Zoids: Legacy of an Empire
by Marsa The Redeemed
Summary: SYOC Story. PM for OC Template. Combines all four anime series of Zoids into one massive world expansive world. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Zoids – Legacy of an Empire

Chapter I: The Players

A/N: Took a while but I finally have enough characters to start this story. SYOC will remain open for the foreseeable future. Send me a PM and I'll send you the template.

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 _Planet Zi – Forest One-Hundred Miles East of Gulong City_

A young man sat in the cockpit of his combat mech. His breathing was steady as the anticipation for the upcoming fight settle. He had short cut red hair that was styled to be a little longer on the right side in the back. His usually peach colored skin was currently darkened by a deep sun tan. He was currently wearing a blue denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up over a purple shirt with white jeans. He had on a pair of knee length leather boots with straps and steel toes while around his waist was a black leather belt with a small pouch as well as a holder of some sort.

The combat mech he piloted was in the shape of a wolf. Its metal was pearly white with red combat streaks decaling its legs and back. On each of its hind legs missile pods were installed. It carried a double-barreled long range rifle or cannon of some sort on its back. The machine was definitely impressive.

Next to the wolf was another mech. This one was bipedal. Its shape was that of a raptor. It carried no guns but instead had a pair of scythe-like blades attached to its arms. Clearly it was designed for close quarters combat and the lack of guns would've reduced its weight considerable.

"Eito, where's our third guy at?"" the pilot of the raptor mech asked using his radio.

"Don't worry about it. You hired us to help get your rank up. My friend and I are professionals. We'll get the job done. You just focus on the task I set aside for you." Eito, the red-headed wolf pilot replied.

"Please, I really need to get some wins." The raptors pilot begged with a slight crack in his voice.

Eito clenched his teeth and sneered. He was glad the video chat function was off. He really disliked whiny bitches but a job was a job so he put up with the client. Suddenly an alarm began to ring within the cockpit. His radar detected three signatures approaching them.

"Alright Fenrir, lets rock and roll." Eito spoke to his machine.

The wolf howled in response as it prepared itself for combat. From the sky a bright object fell and crashed into the earth. Rising from the crater was a white capsule that slowly opened as it turned. Once the front of the capsule was opened completely a figure could be seen inside.

It was a faceless white robot with one red arm and one blue arm.

"The area within a twenty-mile radius is now a designated Zoids Battle Field. This zone is now restricted. Danger, all others must leave the area at once. Danger, this area is now restricted." The robot announced as it began to scan the area.

The three figures that had set off Eito's alarm were closer now and he was able to make them out with his mech's zoom function.

"OK let's see what we'll be tumbling with, two Zaber Fangs and a Shield Liger DCS-J model." Eito observed as he made out the opposing zoids. Two of them looked like saber-tooth tigers. They each carried small three barreled cannons on their backs as well as a twin barreled cannon on the underside of their chest. The Zaber Fangs were grey in color.

The third zoid, which walked in-between the two Zaber Fangs was a lot bulkier than they were. It walked with forward with ease considering the weaponry it carried. On its back was a large two barreled cannon. Each barrel was its own separate piece but the wires and tubing from each showed they functioned as one unit.

Eito made note of the enemy armament and sent along the information to his partner. He received confirmation from them that the information had been received and read. Smiling to himself Eito activated his combat interface as he waited for the match to begin.

"Area Scanned, battlefield set up. The Night Slash Team vs. the Burns Team in Zoids Battle Mode: 0983. Ready, Fight!" the judge exclaimed signaling the start of the match.

Immediately Eito went into action. He armed his missile pods and let loose with a salvo of the explosive projectiles.

"I'll lay down some covering fire. You go in and take them down." Eito commanded over the radio.

"There are three of them and they have ranged weapons." His client complained as the raptor mech took cover from gun fire within some trees.

"That's the fucking point of the cover fire, now get moving!" Eito yelled as a targeting mask lowered over both his face and his machine. The rifle that it carried began to move as Eito tracked his targets.

The Zaber Fangs had immediately gone for the client and his raptor while the Shield Liger took shots at Eito. It terms of sheer combat power the beam cannons that the Shield Liger was equipped with out matched Eito and his rifle. But the lasers lost a lot of their power over great distances which gave Eito and his rifle the advantage.

Once his system began to ping and confirmed missile lock on the Zaber Fangs, Eito let out another salvo. The first time he had fired was to get the enemy team scattered now that they had split up he could focus on the Shield Liger with his rifle while using the missiles for covering fire.

Eito fired three times with his rifle which sent six shots at the Shield Liger. True to its name, the opposing zoid released its front barrier and protected itself from Eito's attack. The young man smiled to himself and fired another three-round burst. The Shield Liger kept its shield up and deflected the rounds before beginning to run forward.

Eito narrowed his eyes with irritation. Deciding to switch tactics, Eito locked on to one of the Zaber Fangs that that was currently blasting the ever living shit out of his client. He smirked and fired a burst of rounds. Completely unaware that he had been fired on the Zaber Fang's pilot was jolted as the rounds impacted upon his mech.

The raptor pilot immediately took advantage of this and ran into the battle with its blades at the ready. The blades sliced through the shaken Zaber Fang with ease taking off its back cannon as well as slicing deep into the zoid itself. With one of the targets disabled Eito switched his focus back to the Shield Liger. It was much closer now and was firing at Eito with smaller weapons.

The rounds hit Eito and his wolf causing damage but not enough to knock them out the match. Pulling at the controls Eito forced the mech to begin avoiding fire and ran off towards the side using the trees as cover. His client and the remaining Zaber Fang were currently locked in melee combat. The raptor was using its claws to try and disable the Zaber. The Zaber Fang was larger and heavier and its teeth were already crushing the chest area of its target.

Eito knew his client's zoid wouldn't last long against that kind of assault and he knew that the Shield Liger would pick him off if he tried to assist. All he could do was wait for his partner to make their move. Turning towards the Shield Liger, Eito opened fire with a set of small guns that had been hidden in the shoulders of his wolf's front legs. The two zoids exchanged fire and soon the Shield Liger's pilot was confident enough to blast at Eito with his main armament.

The beam cannon had a tell, the inside of its barreled glowed before firing. That flaw was probably the only thing that saved Eito as he avoided the shot. It wasn't a complete miss however as the laser grazed the side of his zoid. Eito landed awkwardly but still closed the distance while reading his rifle.

"Eito, help me! I can't last much long." The client's voice spoke through the radio.

Seconds later a loud shot rang out. The Zaber Fangs left side practically exploded as a large round tore through it from front to back. The front and back legs flew off and the zoid crashed to the ground.

"Took you long enough to fire." Eito said through the radio with a smile on his face.

"Wind conditions changed, had to realign shot. I didn't want to damage Clint. Accuracy was off by seven point oh-five percent." A female voice answered.

"Can your rifle do something about this shield liger?" Eito asked as he and his opponent danced round one another. They were close enough now that their main weapons were practically useless and stuck to small arms to try and secure an opening.

"Rerouting for optimal positioning." The female voice spoke again. Her tone was slightly monotonous but her voice was soft and alluring.

"I can help you." Clint, the pilot of the raptor spoke as he began to position his zoid for a charge.

"Don't do it. You'll just mess with the shot." Eito spoke as he and the Shield Liger's pilot finally began to fight with melee strikes. The shield liger was heavier than Eito's zoid but its claws were dull. As long as he avoided the teeth then he would have the advantage, or so he thought.

The Shield Liger's primary defensive option was deployed as the large mech crashed into Eito and sent his zoid tumbling to the ground. His battle command system didn't freeze but his zoid was certainly having trouble getting to its feet. The Shield Liger turned for another pass. Activating its barrier once more the zoid rammed itself into Eito and his wolf.

This time alarms went off from the hit and Eito could see the damage that had been done as the mech's diagnostic systems began to list everything wrong. Activating his rifle Eito tried to shoot at the Liger's feet to throw it off course. The rounds he fired made the pilot double-check his actions as the third charge never came.

However, Eito certainly was at the other person's mercy. Choosing not to take any chances the Shield Liger's pilot began to open fire at Eito and after a short barrage caused the battle command system to freeze. Eito swore loudly as he was forced to watch the remainder of the battle from his cockpit.

The Shield Liger now faced off against the Rev Raptor. Eito knew Clint didn't stand a chance against this opponent and hoped that his partner was ready to take the shot needed to end this battle. The Shield Liger opened fire on Clint and scored a few decent shots before preparing its main weapon.

Before it could get the shot off however three rapid fire shots struck the zoid on the side. The first round lifted the Liger off the ground. The second one struck it dead center on the side and forced its battle command system to free. The last round which had been fired with the first two so was still legal shot clean through the Liger leaving a massive hole.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is the Burns Team!" The judge announced raising its blue arm.

Eito smiled and opened the cockpit of his zoid, the Konig wolf. Releasing the harness, the young man stood up and looked towards the trees where he could see movement. From the tree line a bipedal zoid appeared. It looked similar to tyrannosaurs.

The zoid roared aloud from its victory. Eito could see a small glow emanating from its mouth as it did so. This was a Geno Saurer. Eito had come across his fair share of Geno-type zoids but the one piloted by his partner was in a whole different league.

It was equipped with a charged particle cannon as its main weapon, standard equipment befitting its model. Its customized equipment included a double-barrel long range pulse laser rifle that was mounted on the zoids back. On its face it had a twin-barrel laser gun. On the underside of the chest near the cockpit it was equipped with an AZ Triple Barrel Laser Cannon. It had two sets of eight-slot anti-aircraft missile pods equipped to its legs.

The armaments equipped were nothing new to Eito. There was one thing that made this Geno Saurer stand out from all the others Eito had ever seen though. Like a Gun Sniper this zoid was equipped with a powerful 144mm sniper rifle built into its tail. Eito had never seen a modification like it and after seeing the specs for the zoid was surprised the weapon worked as efficiently as it did.

Unlike a Gun Sniper's tail which was one piece the Geno Saurer's tail was separated. Each piece of the barrel for the rifle was housed in a different section of the tail. Whenever the zoid used its charged particle canon the tail had to lock up in order to use its venting and heat-sink systems. The same locking mechanism also held the gun barrel in place for sniping while the Geno Saurer anchored itself to the ground.

The cockpit of the Geno Saurer opened up. Stepping out from her seat a young woman stood up and shielded her eyes from the sun. She was medium height, standing only four foot ten inches. Her skin was a smooth caramel hue and glistened in the sunlight. A soft breeze blew her waist-length obsidian hair to the side as she brushed a few bangs out her face.

The young woman was dressed in a manner that gave of an air of danger and allure. She wore blue denim short shorts that came down to her mid-thigh. Strapped to each thigh however were holsters, each housing a pistol. Her top consisted of a dark blue sports bra under an open navy blue sleeveless vest. She wore dark fingerless on each hand with metal studs for the knuckles. She had dark indigo markings under her eyes that were shaped slightly like canine teeth.

"Mission parameters met. All hostiles have been neutralized." The woman spoke.

Her zoid glowed as a beam of light shot out of its back and landed on the ground next to the Geno Saurer's foot. The light shifted forms until it became a bipedal creature, a robotic velociraptor to be specific. The woman lowered herself to the ground with the anchor from the cockpit's door. The smaller zoid looked at her and growled softly.

"You did very well Ryuoki. Perfect marks for you." The woman told her companion with a soft smile.

Eito lowered himself from his Konig wolf and began to inspect the zoid.

"How you feeling Fenrir?" he asked the machine. The Konig wolf answered with a robotic growl that caused Eito to smile.

"Don't worry buddy, I'll get you fixed up in no time." Eito assured his zoid.

The judge capsule flew off into the sky as Clint came over to Eito in his rev raptor. Exiting the zoid Clint began to jump around and cheer.

"It's my first victory, thank you so much!" the middle-age man exclaimed as tears of joy rand down his face.

"You're welcome and with that victory you've also gone up a few ranks because of the enemies ranking. Our contract with you is concluded. Be sure to wire the remainder of our funds within the week." Eito said as his female companion and her small zoid walked up next to them.

"No I need you both with me. I'll put you on retainer and give you sixty percent of all my battle winnings." Clint offered.

"Sorry chief but I'm going to decline on the grounds that you annoy me." Eito said with a shrug.

"Irrationality and inexperience of previous client endangers us. We also refuse on grounds for our safety." The woman said with a slight bow.

Clint's tears of joy immediately became tears of sorrow as the two mercenary pilots denied his request.

"Alright Maly, let's say we head to base and fix up the zoids before going to town." Eito suggested as he began to climb into his zoid.

"Acknowledged. Ryuoki lets go." The woman, Maly told her robotic companion.

Ryuoki's body became light once more as it flew into the Geno Saurer. Maly grabbed the anchor and pressed the release button to bring her back up into the cockpit of her zoid. Bringing its systems online Maly began walking northeast. Eito and the Konig wolf quickly caught up them.

 _Peninsular Outcropping_

"Malyganya Maria Mortegra, the Heart-Breaking Harlot. Eito Lanco, the Lady-Killing Shepherd. Alone you're both formidable warriors but together you make up the nearly unstoppable combo known to the world simply as, The Players. I think it's time you both got more intimately acquainted with the Backdraft Organization." A man spoke as he watched the aftermath of the fight through a pair of binoculars.

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A/N: So there it is, chapter one. The oc submission will remain open. Send me a pm if you'd like to submit and I'll give you the template.


	2. Chapter 2

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter II: The Soldier, The Merc, and The Valkyrie

A/N: Well re-uploading the story generating a lot more submissions than the original posting. I give my heartfelt thanks for the submissions guys and girls.

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 _Republic City Matthias_

The soldiers of the Republic whispered amongst themselves as they waited for their commanding officer to appear. They had been stationed in Matthias for almost two months now, defending the city and the processing factory nearby. The Empire however had defeated them on almost every skirmish and taken much ground from them. Morale was low and the air felt heavy.

A young man stood, leaning against a nearby wall. He had a fair complexion and long brown hair that was partially tucked behind his head. His dark hazel colored eyes held a sadness in them as he toyed with the ring in his hand. He wore a slightly modified version of the Republic army uniform. His jacket had the sleeves ripped off which showed off the aegis tattoo on his left arm. Attached to each arm the man wore leather bracers that had seen better days.

The room quieted as a woman climbed onto the stage at the front of the room. The woman was tall, standing around the same height as all the men in the room. She had dark caramel colored skin and pale hazel eyes. Her face was lean and angular giving her an air of sharp beauty. Long black hair ran down her back with natural pink highlights scattered throughout. She wore the aviator variation of the Republic army's uniform and looked every bit as dangerous as she was.

"Soldiers of the Republic!" she barked getting everyone's attention.

"For the past few weeks the Empire has been gaining ground on us. At oh-seven-fifty hours we received intel that their forces were mobilizing for an assault against our processing factory." The woman commander told the troops.

"The current estimation puts their numbers to ours at four to one. Chances of victory is less than ten percent. They have superior firepower and numbers." She continued.

"When the Empire captured Fort Batootha they took most of our armaments as well as the lives of some of our most skilled pilots. I won't lie to you, things are grim." The CO. stated with a sense of dread.

"Our strategists have come up with multiple plans for defense but they all lead to the same outcome, our death and the capture of Matthias City. Therefore, our mission will be to launch a counteroffensive against them."

She looked around at her troops and saw their emotions shift.

"We are soldiers of the Republic. Our citizens are relying on us to defend them against the Empire and hold onto our ideals of liberty. Failure is not an option here!" she exclaimed.

She noticed that her outburst only reached the ears of some the soldiers and clenched her teeth in anger.

"Do you need me to repeat it?! IF THIS MISSION FAILS, IF WE ARE UNSUCCESSFUL THEN THIS CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS HAVE NO FUTURE!" she yelled at the top of her voice.

She could see the embers that had been dying in her subordinates' eyes begin to flare up. She had them and now she had to motivate them.

"You brave men and women of the Republic have shown grit and tenacity throughout this campaign. You know what we face and every day you still get up know it might be your last."

"We have a chance to free this area of the Empire and its evil. You choose to wear that uniform. You wanted to protect your country, your family, and your friends. Follow me into battle. I swear on my life to lead us to glorious victory!" the woman told them with great enthusiasm.

The soldiers cheered at their commander as they felt renewed vigor surge within them. The man in the corner snickered slightly and turned to leave the room. He already knew what was coming next. The commander was about to go over the battle plan. He'd learn what he needed later but for now he had to see someone.

Walking the hallway, the man saw someone approaching from the opposite end. It was another young man who stood the same height as he did. This man had short white hair that covered his forehead, with an odd cluster that was long enough hang between his eyes. The eyes in question were bright emerald colored orbs with a hardness to them.

He was wearing a white polo shirt with the top button unbuttoned underneath a black bomber jacket, black jeans, and black combat boots. The man had a lean build but wasn't what people might consider skinny.

"Blake Raymond, where have you been?" the brown-haired man asked as the figure got closer.

"Stravros Gannicus, shouldn't you be listening to the battle briefing with the others?" Blake asked as he came to a stop.

Stravros closed his hand, hiding the ring he had been playing with moments earlier.

"We both know Lieutenant Jones will fill me in before we mobilize. There's something important I have to do first." Stravros answered as he looked off to the side slightly.

"Hn, its unhealthy to go into battle believing you might die." Blake said with an air of indifference.

"You know; the other guys don't like you very much." Stravros stated.

"I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to do a job." Blake answered dismissively.

"You could show a little compassion to them. Some of us have lost good friends as well as family to this war." Stravros almost shouted as his level of annoyance towards Blake rose.

"My family is safe and live their lives comfortably because of my work. Everything else is just irrelevant." Blake said in response.

At this Stravros slammed his fist against the wall to his left.

"That's what I mean! That right there is the attitude that is ticking people off!" Stravros exclaimed angrily.

Blake snickered before beginning to walk once more.

"Yeah whatever, as long as I'm paid nothing else matters." The white-haired young man said as he passed Stravros.

Looking back Stravros saw Blake continue on his way. He sighed to himself and continued towards his original destination. Blake was just one of a few pilots that had been outsourced to help fill their ranks. While his attitude took a while to get used to Stravros had seen firsthand Blake's skill as a pilot.

Blake used a special type of zoid that had been categorized as a "Gattai" unit. At first Stravros didn't know what that meant but when Lieutenant Jones had teamed the two of them together he found out real fast. Blake's battle prowess surprised Stravros as the young man was able to sync his skills with a stranger after only a few minutes.

In addition to his special zoid, Blake also had an organoid, a very rare and special type of equipment that gave him an edge over other pilots. Many of the other soldiers looked down on Blake for his use of the organoid stating that the kids on skill had nothing to do with his performance in battle. Stravros had nothing but respect for Blake's combat prowess however.

Shaking his head Stravros cleared Blake from his mind as he made his way to the city's hospital. Looking around Stravros saw various medical personnel rushing around the area. He strode up to the receptionist's desk and smiled at the woman sitting down.

"Bonnibel, how are you doing?" Stravros asked the blonde haired woman.

"Staff Sargent Gannicus, how may I help you today?" Bonnibel asked, refusing to look at Stravros.

"I'm shipping out again soon. Looks like this will be the deciding battle for the fate of the city." Stravros told the woman.

Bonnibel looked up at Stravros and he could see the flicker of fear pass through her eyes. Smiling softly Stravros put his hands in his pocket and pulled out the ring from earlier.

"You're a nurse Bonnie, you shouldn't be here answering phones." Stravros told Bonnibel before laying the ring down in front of her.

"What is this?" Bonnibel asked as a hint of anger crept into her voice.

"It's a promise, I've already signed my papers and given them to the CO. You once asked me if I'd be able to stop fighting, here's my answer." Stravros replied.

"Don't do this to me Strav, don't make me wait for a man who might not return." Bonnibel begged as her voice began to crack.

"I'll come back to you Bonnie, one way or another." Stravros said as he turned away and left.

Bonnibel looked at the ring in her hand. The inside of the band was engraved with a short message. Bringing the ring closer Bonnibel read the lettering and smiled as tears sprung to her eyes.

"Stravros you idiot, you already know my answer." Bonnibel whispered to herself.

 _Ex-Republic Fort Batootha_

The soldiers of the empire were wary of the mercenaries that had joined them. Everything about the two men and woman creeped them out. They were decked out in frilly and colorful clothing reminiscent of a harlequin. They were ruthless on the battlefield and didn't care if they hit a few of their own allies in the process.

Fortunately for them the strange group was kept in check when they were camped. The Major, their CO had gotten a leash on the mercs early on. He forced them to submit to his command or die. Many thought that it wasn't the fear of death which compelled them but the authoritative strength The Major possessed.

Walking down the open spaces in between the neatly formed groups The Major and his second-in-command made their way to the podium in the center of the fort.

"Men, women, mercenaries. All of you fight for one thing and one thing only. You fight for the glory of our Emperor and his empire. You are soldiers and that means you are weapons. You are the swords and shields that defend our citizens." The Major opened his speech with controlled enthusiasm.

"The Republic doesn't agree with this. They believe that democracy is the way. Anyone who doesn't agree with our ideals is the enemy. The enemy must be destroyed. This had been our way of life for generations and we lived in relative peace." The Major continued.

"The Republic, foreigners from another continent landed on the far shores. We left them alone, that was our first mistake. We let their citizens and leaders meet with us, that was our second mistake. Fortunately, we prevented a third mistake when we squashed the Zeb Village rebellion. The Republic saw our way of living and deem it evil but I say they are the evil ones!" The Major exclaimed and with this many of the soldiers began to whoop and cheer.

"We didn't ask for them to come here! We didn't try to manipulate their citizens! They came to us! They forced our hand! They are stomping over our road to glory. They are the root of the conflict, and it's time they realize we won't rest until we send them back to whatever land they originated from!" The major yelled the final sentence with more vigor and emotion than before.

His men and women were pumped. They were inspired and battle ready. The Major felt a sense of pride in the soldiers under his command but also regret. He knew many of them would not live past the upcoming battle but it would be his burden alone to carry.

"We, the soldiers of the Empire shall push out these invaders. We shall free those trapped by their chains of democracy. We shall be a symbol of hope for the people and show them the righteous might of our Emperor!" The major added for extra measure. Knowing his men and women would fight harder also meant he knew they would die faster for a cause they all believed in.

Walking off the podium as the soldiers cheer The Major and his aide made their way to their room together. Once inside the major sighed heavily before falling onto his bed. His aide stood off to the side and looked at him for minutes before speaking.

"Very well done sir. You have the soldiers roaring for a fight and praising your name." she spoke.

"I never asked them to praise me." The Major quickly spat out.

"Sir, you have seen more combat then them. You know what is truly at stake here. Praise and admiration is the tip of the iceberg. There are those who worship you as a war god." The Major's aide continued.

The major stood up and violently grabbed the woman by the neck before slamming her into a nearby bookcase.

"You manipulative bitch! You think you can make me play god?!" The Major asked with hatred in his eyes.

The aide was undaunted by the precarious situation she was in as she stared at The Major.

"Of course not. We both know there are no gods. There is just you and me and the heaven we send each other too." She said softly before pulling The Major in for a deep kiss.

 _Hellfire Plains, three hundred miles away from Matthias City_

" _ **IF THIS MISSION FAILS, IF WE ARE UNSUCCESSFUL THEN THIS CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS HAVE NO FUTURE"**_ the message played through the radio once more.

A young woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair that had one long bang hanging down near her blue eyes sighed loudly. She was wearing a sleeveless white blouse, khaki pants, with worn-out moccasins. Around her neck was a chain-link necklace that had an Empire pendant attached. A bead anklet could be seen on her right ankle as she stood up.

She often listened to the Republic transmissions. It took her back to the days of her past. She frowned slightly and looked up at the Zoid she piloted.

"It's not our fight partner." She said to the dragon-looking machine which roared and clawed at the ground in response.

"You'd go to combat just for that?" The girl said with a soft smile.

Her zoid roared once more.

"You know with an attitude like that you won't make many friends." She told the machine.

The girl was silent after that. A soft whirring sound cause her to look up as the cockpit door opened up.

"You know me well partner, if I can help prevent some lives from being lost I suppose we should lend our assistance." She said climbing into the seat and lowering her harness.

"OK then Gilvader, let's go save some lives."

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A/N: So alot of character introduction and plot setup. I throw in alot of references and paraphrased some quotes that fit this chapter well. look foreard to seeing how you guys liked or disliked it.


	3. Chapter 3

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter III: The Peacekeeper

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 _Mantimeo Plains – Several miles outside Matthias City_

Stavros steadied his breathing as he began to activate the combat systems for his zoid. He piloted a Command Wolf AC unit. It was currently equipped with basic equipment that included rocket boosters on the wolf's rear legs, a set of electron bite fangs, and four Strike Claws. Its main armament was currently removed leaving its back bare.

"Activating gattai power unit, Blake you're up." Stavros spoke into his radio.

"I know, I know. Leostriker gattai power unit activate. Gattai initiate: Command Striker!" Blake exclaimed with a smirk on his face.

Blake's zoid, the Leostriker was a small lion-type zoid. It was among the few newly discovered zoids with a gattai function, being able to fuse with another zoid. Stavros learned that Blake had specifically been hired by the hire-ups because of his zoids compatibility for fusion with the Command Wolf AC that he piloted.

What made their combination even more impressive was the use of Blake's organoid, Minx. Normally a fusion can be held for fifteen to twenty minutes but with minx they were able to extend that limit. The longest they had put it to the test for was close to an hour before Minx jettisoned itself and forced the fusion to break. Most of the battles and skirmishes however rarely lasted longer than their maximum limit.

The Leostriker's main cannon, blade, auxiliary guns and parts were attached to the Command Wolf as the fusion process went into effect. With this combination the two pilots could focus on singular jobs. Stavros was the body and was only in charge of positioning and avoiding while Blake acted as the weapons and auxiliary commands.

The main armament for the Command Striker consisted of a combination of the Leostriker's blade tail and its primary cannons. In the fused form the turret could freely switch between the two to be used at will. When the fusion was complete, the Command Striker howled loudly.

"Command Striker unit is ready for launch." Stavros stated into his communication device.

"All systems green, let's go Minx!" Blake commanded.

A medium sized cat-shaped organoid yowled before turning into a sphere of light and flying into the Command Striker. The door in front of the zoid opened revealing the vast moving plains. Various mobile stations were also on the move as the Republic forces mobilized for combat. From his cockpit Stavros saw other pilots launch and begin to charge into battle.

Mortar and cannon fire erupted as the two armies exchanged shots. Launching the Command Striker from its carrier Stavros charged into battle.

"Radar is picking up Imperial forces to the northwest, some of our guys could use a hand over there." Blake mentioned as they engaged a small group of molgas and rev raptors.

Stavros maneuvered through them with ease as Blake used the zan breaker to slice through the enemies. The zoids exploded as the damage sustained decimated their defenses.

"Activating boosters, hand on up there." Stavros warned as the Command Striker began to race across the area.

As they raced through friend and foe, Blake took precision shots at enemies ensuring they either fell or were crippled. Stavros had to give the kid credit, even from a high speed position he was still able to hit his marks.

As they neared the location Blake had mentioned the two young men suddenly found themselves bombarded from above.

"Zabats and Redlers above!" Blake exclaimed as he tried to shoot down the flying zoids.

Several of the Republic had already fallen prey to the airborne assault. The Redlers were equipped with very basic air to surface missiles. They had enough ammo for two passes before they had to provide physical cover for the better equipped Zabats. Stavros clenched his teeth in anger as he did his best to avoid the bombardment.

Around him he saw various Gun-Sniper and Command Wolf units that had already been decimated. Activating the boosters on the Command Striker Stavros positioned the zoid in a way that Blake had a better shot at the flying zoids that harassed them.

Firing the main cannons Blake was able to take down a few of the Redlers that had tried for a melee pass. The Zabats however scored multiple hits on them which threw the command strikers to the ground. Various alarms went off as the Command Strikers system struggled to regain control of itself.

"Shit, fuck, fuck!" Stavros swore as the enemy aerial forces turned for another pass on them.

"HAAAAAWWWWWKKKKK!" a chorus of voices cried out through the radio.

Suddenly the aerial forces of the Imperial army came under fire. A quarter of their forces were blown out of the sky as a small unit consisting of four Fire Phoenixes and a Hurricane Hawk flew in a perfect V-formation.

"Sorry for the wait boys." Lieutenant Jones' voice said over the radio.

"Don't worry, the Shadow Sky Hunters are here to save your sorry asses." A man's voice said with a laugh.

"Cut the shit Biggs, we have a job to do." Another man stated.

"Biggs and Wedge I want both of you on point. Keep their aerial forces off our troops." Jones commanded.

Both men acknowledge the order with a "Roger" before breaking off to handle the rest of the imperial air forces.

"Griff, Simmons, you two know your job. Get the package delivered." Jones instructed.

"Fuuuuuuck, why do we always get the dangerous missions?" one of the men complained.

"Probably because you keep pissing off the CO with your lazy attitude!" another one cried.

The second set of fliers broke off and began heading west. The remaining aerial unit, the Hurricane Hawk circled Stavros and Blake for a few seconds as they got their Command striker set. A few of the Gun-Sniper and Command Wolf units that had survived rallied around them.

"Mam, we are getting killed out here, we need to retreat." A shrill voice cried out.

"Stow that kind of talk. You are a soldier, if we retreat now we'll just be showing our backs to the enemy to get shot at. You know the stakes; we have to take out the enemy commander." Jones stated back keeping an even tone.

"Our scouts report that The Major and his entourage have entered the battle at sector seven to the northeast." One of the soldiers said as he read the information coming into his console.

"All units, this is Lieutenant Jones. Confirmation of primary target has been acquired. All units proceed to the coordinates being uploaded to your terminals." The woman sent out an army wide message.

"Stop fighting!" an unknown voice said.

The voice was female and broadcasting on an open channel so that both armies could hear her.

"You are all human; you shouldn't be fighting this senseless war!" the voice said once more."

"This is a battle zone, identify yourself!" the republican soldiers heard the voice of the imperial commanding officer demand.

"I'm merely a pilot striving for peace. Please lay down your arms and come together with words and negotiate a peace." The woman spoke.

"You speak with naivety." Jones spoke.

"There is no reasoning with Imperial scum!" Stavros shouted.

"Republican dog, I'll have your tongue for that!" a male from the imperial army exclaimed.

"Please don't antagonize one another. Haven't you all lost someone?" the voice tried to push for peace once more.

"The only good imperial is a dead imperial. I won't rest till I've gotten revenge for all my comrades!" a republic soldier shouted.

Everyone heard the stranger sigh sadly.

"The dead find no comfort in vengeance, it can only serve to impugn the honor of the living." She said, almost in a whisper.

"Pretty words, is that all you have?" The Major spat.

"For now, words are all I can offer. Please calm the rage in your hearts. Listen to reason and desist from this senseless violence." The young woman pleaded.

"I'm sorry but your words fall on deaf ears. We must protect the citizens of Matthias city and that means we must stop the imperial forces. All Republic units Advance!" Jones commanded.

"Imperials, prepare for glory!" The Major cried out.

Within the cockpit of the Gilvader the young woman sighed and shook her head in sadness.

"Ok partner, we tried it my way. Now it's your turn, stop them." She spoke. The zoid roared in response as it began to fly faster.

Blake thought about the girl's words as Stavros moved them closer to their target. He had heard peace talks and rallies before but never from someone broadcasting on the open channel in the middle of a battle. It sparked something inside him that he couldn't put his finger on. Shaking his head clear of all distracting thoughts Blake ran a systems check to make sure everything was within acceptable parameters for the Command Striker.

"Minx, how you feeling buddy?" Blake asked as the systems check results came in.

Minx yowled softly in response.

"Yea I hear you buddy. Sorry for that, we weren't expecting to come in contact with flyers." The young man conversed with his organoid.

Minx yowled some more.

"I'm not doubting you could've taken them Minx, but we just aren't equipped for land to air combat." Blake said with a small smirk.

"Contact, contact, contact!" a female voice cried over the radio.

Suddenly the republic forces were being fired upon from their southwest side. The imperial forces had laid an ambush and were closing in as more fighters came in from the southeast and east. Biggs and Wedge had rejoined Jones in the sky after neutralizing the imperial forces but even they could tell that with their air superiority the ground forces had little to no chance of coming out of this alive.

Leading the enemy forces was a massive Iron Kong. It was double the size of a normal Kong and carried just as many armaments if not more. On its left was a red white and blue polka dot Zaber Fang as well as a bright and multicolored Redhorn. On the right was an Imperial Regulation Dark horn with standard equipment and next to it a Rev Raptor that matched the ridiculous color scheme of the Zaber Fang and Redhorn.

"ITS THEM!" Jones' voice cried out in anger.

The woman broke the aerial formation and began firing at The Major and his entourage with reckless abandonment. Biggs and Wedge followed after her and began to fire at will as well. Seeing their commanding officer lead the charge, the rest of the republic soldiers joined in and began to engage the overwhelming forces of the Empire.

Stavros maneuvered the Command Strike in and out of foes as he tried to close in on the enemy commander. Blake kept up with the speed as he sliced foes with the energy bladed weapon and shot others that were out of range of the blade. They were closing in with great timing when suddenly a massive shockwave rushed over the field.

In the sky was a massive dragon-shaped zoid. It flew at the Shadow Sky Hunters and engaged all three of them in a dog fight at once. Try as they might though the three pilots could not take it down. The pilot of the Gilvader was impressive to say the least. As they flew circles around the Republic's air force they were also simultaneously removing both Imperial and Republic ground forces.

The shots it made were all non-lethal disabling ones that forced the zoids battle command system to freeze. Stavros avoided fire from all sides while Blake did his best to return fire to both the Empire soldiers and this stranger.

"Take down that Gilvader, we can use it to build more for our army!" The Major ordered. The remaining Imperial forces turned their attention from the dwindled Republic forces as they all tried to take down the flying nuisance. The Gilvader's pilot however had other plans as they flew high into the sky and took out both Biggs and Wedge's Fire Phoenix's in one pass.

Jones swore to herself as she saw her wingmen eject from their zoids which crashed into the ground below. She had always thought herself an ace aerial combat pilot but now here was some stranger who flew better than she could even dream of. With Biggs ad Wedge dispatched the Gilvader turned its attention back to the ground forces this time aiming for The Major.

From his position in the cockpit of the Command Striker's turret Blake saw a glow on the Gilvader as saw blades attached to its back and wings began to shine. The Gilvader began to spin as it rushed its target. The Major however stood his ground within his Iron Kong, being almost twice the size of the Gilvader it intended to catch the zoid after taking its hit dead on.

When the Gilvader got closer however that's when the unexpected happened. Streams of energy shot forth from its saws and particle cannons. The resulting attacks decimated the Iron Kong. The entirety of its being was enveloped in energy. When the attack had finished there was nothing left but a pile of slag.

For minutes there was no combat. The Imperial forces were frozen at the loss of their commander. The man they thought to be a war god was dead, there was no way he had survived being buried in the slag.

"Republic Soldiers Finish this fight!" Lieutenant Jones' voice yelled through the radios of the remaining Republican soldiers.

"NO, their commander is dead!" the stranger's voice from before cried out on the open channel once more.

"This fight is over! They have been defeated, this is the victory you wanted right?!" the voice cried out again. The Gilvader however didn't come back to engage in combat.

Jones however ignored the Gilvader's pilot as she unleashed a barrage of weapon fire on the colorful zoids as well as the Redhorn that had stood with The Major.

"You have done your part stranger, leave and we'll forget that you fired on Republic forces. Stay and I'll make sure you are personally held accountable for your actions." Jones threatened as she made multiple passes of the enemy forces. The Imperials were in a state of panic as many of them either ran away or tried to surrender only to be cut down by the republic soldiers.

From with the cockpit of her Gilvader the young woman witnessed the massacre. "Republic or Imperial it makes no difference. You see one another as less than human. How can you claim righteousness when you're attacking surrendering opponents?" she said sadly.

The Gilvader growled and continued to circle the battlefield.

"Let go Gilvader, there's nothing more we can do here." The young woman said as she flew away from the destruction below.

 _Ex-Republic Fort Batootha_

Two men walked into the center of the fort, one dressed in a maroon uniform while the other was dressed in orange.

"So, their wounded soldiers are here?" the orange-dressed man asked.

"That's what the intel says. WE just have to place this last bomb then we'll be good to go." The maroon one answered.

"Simmons, don't you feel a bit dirty doing this?" the orange man, Griff asked.

"Dirty? What's to feel dirty about? Our commander gave us an order and we are going to follow it." Simmons stated.

"I suppose but still I'd rather just say we did kill them but not kill them that way we don't have to do actual work.

"Griff you are the laziest bastard I know. We've already planted all the bombs, what is one more going to hurt?" Simmons asked.

"Well for starts its going to hurt everyone in this base. They're going to die Simmons." Griff stated.

"Ugh, I can't wait to get back to Lieutenant Jones and report you for insubordination." Simmons stated as he took out a small explosive device.

"What the fuck? Why is the timer on?!" Simmons cried.

"Duh dude, you have to activate the timer so the bomb goes off." Griff stated in a matter-of-factually tone.

"Griff, you dumbass you are supposed activate the timer after all the bombs are set not before. How didn't I notice this until now?!" Simmons cried out.

"I don't know, maybe you're just not as observant as you claim to be." Griff stated with a bored tone.

"Besides, how bad could it be we set the timers for thirty minutes remember, I bet we still have plenty of time to set this and get out." Griff continued.

"Uh, no dumbass we don't. We have only ten seconds left before this thing explodes!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Oh, well that sucks." Griff said in a neutral tone.

The countdown finished and beeped.

Looking at the bomb and then at one another both soldiers sighed loudly.

"Son of a b-"

* * *

A/N: Corry for the late update. I had meant to do this last week but with so many characters submitted I had trouble choosing whether to continue from the last chapter or focus on a new set. Thank you to everyone for the characters. I hope you enjoyed their portrayal. If you didn't drop a review and let me know why.


	4. Chapter 4

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter IV: The Twins and The Technician

Republic Base Green Hornet

The young man sat within his dimetrodon shaped zoid. He was currently in the process of hacking the enemy communications system. He looked barely out of his teens with his fair facial features and dark brown hair. It was styled so that his long bangs covered the left half of his face with a short buzz cut on the backside. He was dressed in a standard Empire soldier's uniform but with various medals and commendations pinned to his chest. Around his neck the boy wore a thick dark scarf and finished up the outfit with a pair of thick glasses resting on his nose.

" _I thought you were supposed to be some kind of super genius."_ A voice suddenly said through the radio.

The boy sighed loudly. He knew it was imperative he had protection during his mission. What he didn't understand was why his commanding officer had decided to hire outside help.

" _Zack, you're being distracting."_ A second voice, eerily similar to the first said.

" _Yea, maybe but I can't stand this quiet. This is a waste of my talent you know, protecting some nerd while he does computer stuff when we could be out enjoying a zoids battle."_ Zack, the first voice said in response.

"You know I can hear you, right?" The bespectacled young pilot spoke.

" _Well we are using the radio frequency assigned so it would be odd if you couldn't hear me."_ Zack said with a mischievous laugh.

"Frederick, can you control your brother?" the pilot asked as he tried to focus on the task he had been working at for the better part of the past half hour or so.

Breaking through the multiple layers of security without alerting the Republic that they were being hacked was a difficult task even for him. He found that the republics firewalls were a lot more secure than the Empire ones, which he had hacked a few years ago on a bet from his friends. Although he was caught a few hours later, the experience taught him to cover his tracks better.

" _Yea Ricky, can't you control me better? You're making things difficult for Hideki."_ Zack jested with a taunting laugh.

Hideki heard Frederick, aka Ricky sigh through the radio.

" _Zack, keep your focus. I just finished maintenance on the Victory Rex. I'd like to avoid having it take unnecessary damage because of your reckless piloting."_ Ricky stated.

Zack laughed through the radio before answering.

" _Come on bro, don't kill my vibe. It's not like the republic troops even realize we are here. I need something to kill the time."_ Zack complained.

" _Run a systems check on the Rex then. With the new modifications I added I'll have to update the zoid's baseline parameters."_ Ricky informed his brother.

Hideki shook his head in frustration. The twins, Zachary "Zack" and Frederick "Ricky" Licht were well known free agent pilots. They spent a majority of their time in zoids battles but were known to do outside work from time to time. Within the battle community the duo were among the few teams to be completely undefeated.

They had started out doing doubles but soon switched to single combat or no restriction combat still using only one zoid unless it was necessary to use both the zoids in their possession. Hideki knew they were a force to be reckoned with whether alone or together and while he appreciated the protection he did not appreciate Zack's personality.

There was a ping as Hideki broke through another defense. His mission was to intercept the troop movements for the area. If he could cause some kind of confusion or sabotage them in any way, he had been given the greenlight to do so. After the complete decimation of Imperial forces assigned to the capture Matthias City the higher ups had shifted their focus to espionage tactics as opposed to open conflict.

While the body count had been significant it was morale that took the biggest hit. Even though the Republic army had been vastly outnumbered they still managed take victory. Not only that, they had apparently killed The Major, someone every Imperial troop thought to be immortal.

Hideki had never met the man himself but he had seen battle records of the conflicts The Major had participated in. Typing away at his remote hack tool Hideki continued his cyber-warfare. Suddenly his radar alarm began to ring.

"Frederick, Zachary we have targets incoming." Hideki said over the radio, alerting the twins.

" _Finally, we get some action. Victory Rex is mobilized and ready for combat."_ Zack stated with heightened enthusiasm.

" _Don't get reckless Zack, and stick to the plan."_ Ricky spoke in a less excited tone but Hideki could tell the twins loved combat.

Hideki only hoped that the minor experience they had outside of sanctioned battles would be enough. He saw their pings on his radar as the duo moved to intercept the Republic forces coming after them. _Alright while they buy me time, I'll have to get this done._ Hideki thought to himself as he readjusted his glasses and redoubled his efforts to break the Republic's cyber defenses.

Further away the twin's radar systems began to pick up multiple targets. When they picked up this contract they had been told that both of their piloting skills would be needed. The Empire didn't want to take any chances with one of their top computer technicians dying or getting captured. Ricky was in the Geno-Hydra while his brother, Zack piloted the Victory Rex.

"I recognize these signatures." Ricky said as the custom software he had installed matched the zoids to the amount of energy they emitted.

" _Yea it's the Republic's Night Howlers. Those are the Special Black Ops guys. The stuff they do goes beyond being black booked. They have no paper trail."_ Zack stated and Ricky could hear the slight hesitation in his brother's voice.

They had heard of the Night Howlers from one of their contacts within the Republic. These were the people you called when you needed something done that couldn't be traced. They were ghosts contacted through multiple couriers and answering only to the highest authority within the Republic.

"Hideki, come in. I highly suggest that whatever you're doing you expedite the process." Ricky warned.

" _Wow, I didn't know you could get nervous. Given your reputation I figured you had nerves of steel."_ Hideki responded.

" _Yea, normally I would agree with you but whatever you're getting into has attracted the attention of the Night Howlers. If you didn't have the best detection equipment on your zoid I doubt you would've known that they were approaching until it was too late."_ Zack chimed in.

"Zack, I'm activating gattai function. We're going to have to set the pace for this battle." Ricky instructed.

" _Roger that bro. Victory Rex gattai power unit activate. Gattai initiate: Geno-Hydra VF"_ Zack stated with a relative calmness in his voice.

" _I'm in their systems guys, just buy me fifteen minutes to copy their files."_ Hideki told the brothers.

"We'll buy you as much time as we can." Ricky acknowledged as the fusion of the Victory Rex and Geno-Hydra completed.

"ARC!" Ricky exclaimed.

"MASER!" Zack called out.

Twin orbs of lights flew from their cockpits before plummeting into their fused creation.

"Double Fusion!" The twin siblings exclaimed in unison as both their organoids integrated into the system.

The Geno-Hydra VF roared loudly in response to the power boost. Seconds later the twins came under fire as their opponents made their presence known.

"Artillery type: AZ Thirty-millimeter laser Vulcan. Deploying countermeasure. Target zones b-five through b-nine and prepare to fire." Ricky instructed as he input calculations for the zoid so that his brother could focus on the battle.

The Geno-Hydra jumped to the side and hovered before firing from its minigun equipped head. Zack smiled as he saw the rounds hit something.

"They're using a camouflage system. Initial scans show two Liger Zero units and four Shadow Fox Units." Ricky reported as he maneuvered the Geno-Hydra around and released a payload of missiles while Ricky fired the with the minigun.

The Geno-Hydra was rocked to the ground as it received fire from the side. Rolling with the fall the Geno-Hydra opened its main head and fired a sustained charged particle beam and swept it across the area in a ninety-degree arc. With two organoids powering the zoid, it needed little to no time to charge its main armaments.

Two of the Shadow Fox units were destroyed by the initial blast but while it was firing the Geno-Hydra came under attack on its blindside. Zack clenched his teeth and fired multiple rounds from the Victory Cannons. The wild fire missed but had the positive effect of showering the area in dust which flowed over the zoids and made their stealth system useless.

With a better view of their enemies the twins moved the Geno-Hydra forward and switched to its buzz-saw equipped head. Cutting into a Shadow Fox, Ricky and Zack were thrown around in their cockpits when one of the Ligers tackled them to the ground. The Liger Zero had equipped a Schneider CAS unit to itself. All five of its front blades were skewered into the Geno-Hydra's side.

Alarms blared and rang as the brothers struggled to get themselves out of the precarious situation. Firing a salvo of missiles at the Liger, Zack forced the two zoids apart with an explosion. Ricky's expert piloting skills allowed him to right the Geno-Hydra in midair which gave his brother the perfect line up.

Firing all missiles pods, the charged particle cannon, and the victory cannons the Geno-Hydra unleashed a massive bombardment of death on the area beneath them. The explosions from totaled zoids were hard to make out when mixed in with the general destruction of the area.

After the attack subsided Ricky notice that almost all their systems were redlining. When the Liger had attack them before its blade had penetrated deep into their zoid almost hitting the core. Zack heard his brother swear as they both began to run emergency maintenance on the Geno-Hydra.

The smoke from their attack cleared and the brothers were able to see the wreckage that was the remains of the Night Howlers' zoids. The twin's organoids jettisoned from the Geno-Hydra back into their respective cockpits as the fusion was forced apart. From within their cockpits the twins saw they had a transmission incoming.

Ricky accepted the transmission but instead of a video they were given a message.

 _ **Impressive.**_

 _ **You beat the Night Howlers combat drones.**_

 _ **You're on our radar now.**_

 _ **Polish your skills kids.**_

 _ **We'll see you real soon.**_

 _ **The Night Howlers are on the prowl.**_

The message was fairly short and from the tone of each sentence it sounded like each of the members had something to say. Ricky sighed loudly as he ran a diagnostic on the Geno-Hydra. He would be stuck fixing both the Hydra and Rex for the next few days which meant no zoids battles for a while.

"Hideko, the Night Howlers are gone, what's your status?" Ricky asked.

" _Just finishing up on my end. You guys bought me more time than I needed so I was able to screw around with their systems a bit. Thankfully I was able to scrub you guys out their database. If that message from the Night Howlers is legit then it'll make it a lot harder for them to find you."_ Hideki told them.

Ricky wasn't even surprised that the hacker had intercepted the transmission but was glad that for now he and his brother wouldn't have to worry about the Howlers. Opening a line to the Victory Rex, Ricky ran a remote diagnostic from his cockpit.

" _We've got more forces incoming from the base, I think it's time we got out of here."_ Hideki advised

Knowing they were in no shape to fight again the twins agreed and began to retreat to the rally point that had been designated for them to use for extraction. Thoughts of how tough their fight with drones had been weighed heavily on the siblings' minds. They knew that in a zoids battle they were nigh unstoppable but this was a wakeup call to them that there were pilots out there who's skill surpassed their own.

* * *

A/N: This was a fun chapter to write. I've never done twins in this manner so it was a new and challenging experience for me.


	5. Chapter 5

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter V: The Ex-Soldier and The Backdraft

 _Domed Arena_

Reiji Zwei sighed within the cockpit of his Berserk Fury. The young man knew he was in for a rough time. He opened his eyes revealing the silver-grey colored irises. His dark brown hair was messy and his light skin glistened with a thin layer of sweat. He was currently dressed in a grey tank top, black fingerless gloves, dark navy jeans and a pair of black steel toed boots.

The doors to the arena opened up revealing a pair of black and purple Konig wolves. They had no ranged armaments but for Reiji that was just fine. Turning his head to his shoulder where a small robotic raven was perched. The raven had streaks of red running along its wings.

"Nightingale, let's get started." Reiji told the bird before it cawed in response and turned into a beam of light before flying up and into the Berserk Fury.

Off to the side was a black capsule built into the wall of the arena. Within the capsule a black judgeman stood and surveyed the area.

"Battle Field set, Battle mode: 0999. The Backdraft vs Reiji Zwei. Ready and fight!" the judge announced.

Reiji immediately went into action and pushed his zoid forward. The Konig wolves tried to engage in combat but were thrown to the side by the buster claws of the Fury. Swiftly turning his zoid Reiji blasted at one of his opponents with short particle streams from one of the claws while rotating the second one as a type of shield to defend his blind side.

The first Konig wolf took three shots to the side before crumpling to the ground. As it fell the arena doors opened once more this time revealing more Konig wolves and a pair of hell cats. The hell cats immediately went into stealth. Reiji activated his advanced radar and turned to deal with the second Konig wolf from the first wave. Stabbing both buster claws into the zoid Reiji expanded the weapons causing the Konig wolf to be ripped apart.

Suddenly the berserk fury was thrown to the side as the newer combatants began to open fire on him. Spinning around Reiji saw that the hell cats were trying to flank him while the Konig wolves kept his attention. Smirking to himself Reiji charged after one of the hell cats and grabbed its tail in the jaws of the berserk fury. Spinning around twice Reiji slammed the hell cat into its invisible partner while simultaneously using their bodies to shield himself from the Konig wolf assault.

Since the Konig wolves needed to get a new position to fire Reiji knew he had a few seconds to prepare for them and activated his stealth drive causing his zoid to shimmer away. His radar showed that the Konig wolves were coming at him from the same direction.

Activating his anchor locks Reiji began to charge his main weapon, the particle cannon. When both zoids came into view Reiji fired and blasted them both causing enormous amounts of damage as the wolves were blown apart. Reiji smiled but soon noticed that more combatants had entered.

A Leoblaze, Nightwise, Mosasledge, and Unenlagia all came out together but Reiji saw that they were performing a gattai maneuver and moved to intercept them. Releasing the anchors Reiji pushed the berserk fury forward at top speed blasting short beams from his buster claws. Unfortunately, the blasts were severely weaker than a fully charged shot. Each one he fired was intercepted by either a hell cat, Konig wolf, or command wolf that had accompanied the gattai zoids.

The fusion was completed in seconds as Reiji now faced off against a Matrix Dragon. Clenching his teeth, the young pilot used a reverse thrust to avoid the claws of the large fused zoid. He opened fire on the Matrix dragon as he tried to find a weak spot. Opening its mouth, the Matrix dragon began to breath fire at Reiji. As the flames licked at his zoid Reiji could feel the temperature quickly rise within the cockpit.

He had the maneuverability advantage and decided to make the most of it by pushing the Berserk Fury to top speed. Once he was out of range of the flame thrower Reiji began to open fire once more scoring a few direct hits. The Matrix Dragon countered with a barrage of missiles which threw Reiji and his zoid to the side.

Reiji knew he needed to fire his charged particle gun but wouldn't have time to keep his zoid in place and the target. Thinking of his options the pilot righted himself and began to circle the Matrix Dragon as the arena doors opened once more this time unleashing a Chimera Dragon and Lord Gale into the mix.

Reiji was an ace pilot but even he knew the odds were stacked against him. There was no choice but to use his ace in the hole. Closing his eyes Reiji steadied his breathing and flipped open the safety box on the control panel.

"Nightingale release the control rods; we're going to break our limits." Reiji told his organoid before pressing the button.

The berserk Fury roared loudly as it began to glow between the joints and armor. Turning to face its opponents the berserk fury released another roar, this one challenging the zoids to come at it. The lord gale moved first and tried to impale the berserk fury on its claws. It was stopped by the deployment of an energy shield that was timed perfectly.

As it crashed and hit the ground Lord Gale tried to right itself but was stopped by the berserk fury's teeth clenching around its abdomen. As it struggled to free itself the lord gale was repeatedly stabbed by the buster claws of the berserk fury until it resembled swiss cheese from the holes in its body. Tossing the body aside Reiji turned to engage his last two opponents.

The dragons roared in defiance and began blasting at Reiji with missiles. Maneuvering with his thruster the dark haired pilot was able to avoid the attacks while countering with his own blasts. The Chimera Dragon tried to use its high powered rifle and take him down but each shot missed as Reiji closed in on the zoid.

Once he was within melee range Reiji cried out as his berserk fury tackled the Chimera Dragon. Both zoids tumbled around as various teeth, claws, and bladed weapons stabbed and sliced at one another. The Matrix Dragon rushed over to join the fray but was stopped in its track by a stray charged particle shot to its side. With its limiters removed the berserk fury was able to charge its main armament without needing to anchor itself.

The downside was the immense strain put on the zoids core. Reiji knew he had to finish the fight soon and began blasting at the chimera dragon with everything he had while slashing at it with the berserk fury's strike laser claws. The chimera dragon fired off one more shot of its main cannon before taking a fatal stab and crumpling.

The shot was enough however as Reiji was thrown backwards and hit the ground hard. His command system didn't freeze but his zoid was damaged from the shot. The matrix dragon turned its attention on the down zoid and roared triumphantly as it closed in for the kill.

Reiji clenched his teeth and tried to get his zoid to move but everything he did ended in failure. Knowing his opponent was about to finish him off Reiji sighed and reached down for the pilot's safety eject. He wouldn't lose Nightingale to these bastards.

Before he could pull the lever however there was an explosion from above. Soaring in from above was a Buster Eagle, its majestic entrance was only further enhanced by the powerful shots it fired upon the Matrix dragon before circling over Reiji and the berserk fury.

"No! no! no! violation of the rules, violation of the rules!" the dark judge cried out.

Reiji smiled and laughed opening his communication channel.

"There are no rules remember!" he exclaimed as the berserk fury finally got to its feet.

At that moment the buster eagle flew down and initiated a gattai with Reiji. The young pilot had seen previous gattai before but didn't know his berserk fury was compatible with any. His zoid seemed to accept the gattai without his input as the buster eagle attached itself to the berserk fury's back. The buster eagle screeched loudly while the berserk fury roared, its energy restored.

"Let's go!" Reiji exclaimed with renewed vigor.

Taking to the sky the Buster Fury cried out and began to open fire on the Matrix Dragon. Its opponent also took to the sky and began to fire missiles and various rounds at it. Reiji's ace piloting skills came into play as he avoided the gun fire and spun around behind the Matrix Dragon with a loop de loop before firing the buster cannon.

The matrix dragon took three direct hits before crashing down into the ground. Looking around from the sky Reiji saw that one more opponent had entered the arena while he dealt with the Matrix Dragon. It wa a simple rev raptor and stood patiently on the ground for him.

As his radar showed no other enemies within the area Reiji landed on the ground and turned to face his final target. Either sensing danger or that Reiji would be ok at this point, the Buster Eagle disengaged itself from the gattai and flew off through the hole it had made during its entrance.

 _Thank you for the assistance Buster Eagle_. Reiji thought as he prepared his weapons. The rev raptor also readied its scythes and roared at Reiji. The two zoids faced off before charging at each other. Reiji yelled and tried to strike the Rev Raptor with one of his buster claws.

At the last moment the zoid dodged his strike by ducking and swerving beneath the weapon and counted by using its blade to cut the buster claw off at the joint. _That's not an unmanned zoid, there's somebody inside that thing._ Reiji monologue in his mind as he turned around for another pass. The zoids charged again but like before the Rev Raptor avoided the strike and countered.

This time the counter consisted of the rev raptor climbing on the Berserk Fury and clawing at it with the talons of its foot as well as biting it. The berserk fury's armor was shredded off from the assault before being smacked by the rev raptors tail. Reiji felt the berserk fury crash into the ground as his command system froze and Nightingale was force out of the core.

"Battle over. Battle over. The winner is the backdraft!" the dark judge cried out.

Reiji slammed his fist into his zoids command console as the rev raptor walked up to him. The cockpit opened up revealing an older man that had a heavy muscular build. He had short brown hair, hazel eyes, moustache and goatee, red shirt, blue jacket, blue jeans, ankle-high boots, and cutoff leather gloves.

From the rev raptor a ball of light emerged before landing next to the man revealing an organoid that was vastly different from Nightingale. It was humanoid, grey in color and stood roughly three meters tall. Its left arm was smaller than its right one giving the organoid a slightly monstrous appearance.

 _His skill plus that organoid was how he was able to beat me. Add in the fact that I was damaged from the previous fights and it was a recipe for failure on my part._ Reiji thought angrily as he opened the Berserk Fury's cockpit. Dropping down to the ground with Nightingale on his shoulder Reiji walked forward.

When he and the older man were only a few feet away the man extended his hand with a dark smile gracing his face.

"Reiji Zwei, welcome to the Backdraft group."

* * *

A/N: You know how we roll, drop a review and look forward to the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter VI: The Origin of His Name

A/N: Since I'm done with one of the main stories for my SYOC RWBY universe I'll be able to focus on this more for a bit while doing the side story and prequel for the RWBY one.

* * *

 _Player's Compound_

Malyganya moaned softly as she woke up. The sun's shining rays crept into her bedroom from the window and warmed her bare skin. Looking to her left the naked young woman saw two naked men. One of them had an average build a dark chocolate-colored skin while the other was of a significantly tougher and more toned build with sun-tanned skin. Looking down Malyganya saw a young woman wrapped around her. The female was beautiful for certain and Malyganya felt her body react to the sensation of skin to skin contact as she was turned on. Beside the female was another attractive young woman, this one was no more than twenty years old or so.

"The harlot strikes again." Malyganya heard a voice say from her left and turned to see Eito, her partner standing in the doorway.

"Sexual intercourse is the norm for humans. I see not why it has so many taboo labels to it." Malyganya stated as she ran her fingers through the long silken black hair of the woman wrapped around her.

Eito laughed and pulled a nearby chair towards him before setting on it backwards and facing Malyganya.

"Maly my friend, you still have so much to learn about the outside world." The young man said with a smirk.

Eito had met Malyganya almost two years ago and immediately took a liking to her. Malyganya was one of almost one hundred of the remaining ancient zoidians left on the planet. Half a century ago a small hive of ancient zoidians capsules had been found and now the race had slowly began rebuilding its population.

Malyganya had been raised with a strange and sheltered lifestyle. Eito enjoyed watching her interact with people in ways that seemed perfectly natural to her but made everyone else freak out most of the time. Her most prominent personality trait was her promiscuity. Her first question to Eito when then met had been if he wanted to engage in coitus with her.

Even so, she was smart and had some common sense about her. Malyganya wasn't all sex though as she enjoyed zoid battles almost as much as she enjoyed sex. It didn't matter what kind of battle she was in whether it was sanctioned or fighting in the military. Eito was able to tell from the subtle changes in her voice during combat that she was happiest when she was piloting her zoid.

Eito looked at the aftermath of the orgy that Malyganya had been the center of and shook his head smiling. The girl's stamina was impressive considering she was already up after the session while everyone else was still sleeping.

"You were invited to join but refused, why is that?" Malyganya asked as she traced her finger down the spine of the male closest to her.

"Let's just say I like our relationship the way it is." Eito replied as some of the orgy participants stirred.

"Our relationship is limited to us living together and piloting together. How would introducing coitus affect either of those things?" Malyganya asked as the woman next to her awoke and looked around in a confused haze.

"We'll continue this conversation after you are done with them." Eito said as he stood up and left the room.

Every morning started off the same way ever since Eito and Malyganya had bought their own compound. Malyganya would wake up in a bed of strangers or one lucky stranger. Even with her known reputation as a heart-breaker the person or persons in question would still confess love for her which she would turn down before turning them away.

Eito never understood the appeal but then again he had never slept with Malyganya. Her technique must be beyond perfect if she got that reaction from people daily. Smiling to himself Eito noticed the robotic velociraptor currently pacing the halls and ran to catch up to the machine.

"Ryuoki, are you going out for a run?" Eito called out to the organoid as he turned the corner.

The dinosaur-shaped machine looked at Eito before growling softly and running away.

"Good talk buddy." Eito called after Ryuoki.

The organoid had originally been extremely violent toward Eito and fiercely protective of Malyganya. Although Malyganya had told him time and time again that Eito wasn't a threat Ryuoki still treated the young man with little respect for his wellbeing. Eito had grown accustomed to the organoid's quirks and after the violent episodes had ended began to bug the creature just for kicks.

Making his way to the kitchen Eito pulled out multiple dishes and began to cook breakfast. He heard the crying and patter of footsteps before actually seeing the person, a young girl barely out of her teens run by.

"Thank you for staying at Heart-Break Inn, please come again!" Eito exclaimed with a laugh.

The two men came into the kitchen before entering the connected dining room.

"Damn man, she was brutal." The darker male said, his hair was plaited into corn rows while his friend was clean shaven.

"I mean, I know she's called the 'Heart Break Harlot' but she didn't have to make the girl cry." The bald man spoke.

"I'm surprised you two didn't confess love to her. Everyone else does after a night with her and neither of you are repeaters." Eito said as he continued to cook.

"We did the love confession last night before realizing we were talking to The Harlot." The man with styled hair explained.

"Damn, that's a new one, confession before sex." Eito laughed.

"We were trying to pick her up but she saw through our bullshit and just said if we wanted sex she was more than happy to oblige." The man continued.

"Yea, she is pretty straightforward like that. Where'd the two other girls come from though?" Eito asked as he filled two plates with food for the strangers.

"She picked them up as we were leaving. I don't know how she did it but I'm not complaining about it either." The bald man said with a smile.

"Yea, my partner has a knack for things like that." Eito conversed with the men.

"Partner? You two are a thing and you let her bang whoever she wants?" the bald man asked with disbelief in his voice while his friend choked on the food.

"Zoids Partner." Eito clarified as he began cooking again.

"She's the 'Heart-Break Harlot' and I'm the 'Lady-Killer Shepherd'" Eito explained.

"Dude we are in the presence of that unstoppable duo, The Players." The cornrowed haired man told his buddy.

"You two are frigging legends in the battle circuit. Never, as a team, have you been defeated with each of you having less than a dozen command system freezes during your entire career." The man began listing some of the accolades that Eito and Malyganya had earned.

Eito laughed as he heard the accomplishments yet again. He knew what he had done but it was always rewarding to have someone tell him how great he was.

"I've got a question for you Shepherd." The bald man stated after his friend had finished.

"Yea, and I have an answer." Eito replied with a mischievous smirk.

"How did you get your nom de guerre? We know how your partner got hers but yours has been eating at me for the better part of a year now."

Eito laughed and turned off the stove as he brought more food to the table and joined the men.

"It has been a while since I told this story so excuse me if I gloss over a few details.

 _Del Gati City, two years ago_

 _Eito walked through the streets of the large city with a smile on his face. After the tragedy of losing his Guysak, a zoid he had piloted over the past five years since he was seventeen from an ambush attack Eito had fallen into an old Republic base. The base had been abandoned quite some time ago as evidenced by the thick layer of dust that rested undisturbed on everything._

 _His luck finally turned around when he found a prototype Konig Wolf as well as large amounts of valuable Zoid Magnite. With a new zoid and a way to make some quick cash the young man had immediately set out for the nearest city which brought him here to Del Gati City. He carried some of the magnite in his knapsack as he looked for an appraising store._

 _Following the city map, that he had picked up from a nearby zoids part store Eito walked around a corner before seeing the building he wanted. Smirking to himself the young man began to run towards the store when he saw a group of girls, teenagers from their clothing being harassed by some older males._

 _Eito clenched his teeth before pivoting to the side and charging the group. He didn't think, just acted as he barreled into the men. Before they could react to the sudden attack Eito was already dealing out damage. From the tackle he took one guy down before mounting on top and delivering several double-handed blows to the man's chest and face. As his target lost consciousness Eito was already to his feet and engaging another one of the males. This one was a little more prepared than the other and blocked the first two punched Eito sent his way._

 _Eito didn't allow the stranger to counter after the blocks however as he swiftly kneed the man in the stomach twice before grabbing the man's head and delivering a powerful headbutt to would-be molester. Eito didn't feel the pain as a crazed smiled appeared on his face. By this time the remaining two young men had prepared themselves to fight. Eito stood up and crossed his arm smiling dangerously at the remaining opponents._

 _"I am the Shepherd and this is my flock!" Eito announced as he waved his hand to the girls behind him._

 _"I protect my flock from the wolves in the night. I protect my flock from the wolves in the day. I protect my flock!" Eito exclaimed as he raised his hands and readied himself to fight._

 _The two men looked at him and then at each other before deciding that Eito's crazy rant was enough of a reason to retreat. They half dragged, half carried their unconscious friends with them and left Eito alone with the girls. Realizing that the combat situation had ended Eito calmed down and turned to look at the teenage girls before smiling at them._

 _"Have a nice day." He told them before continuing on his way to the appraising store._

 _The Players Compound, present day_

"After that incident I traded the zoid magnite for some cash there was another group of girls that I saved. This group however had one girl who kept trying to get with me. At first it was cute but it got to the point that I had to let her down. I stayed in Del Gati for about two weeks and after stopping two or three more attacks I became known as 'The Shepard' but that girl from before spread the rumor that I rescued girls just to toy with their emotions which is when the 'Lady-Killer' was also added." Eito finished explaining his names origin to the men just as Malyganya walked into the room with her female companion from last night.

The female stranger was only wearing a large t-shirt that came down to about her mid-thigh but hung off her shoulder in a revealing way. Eito could almost fully see the girls left breast and it was easy to tell through the shirt that she wasn't wearing a bra as her nipples poked the material. She had long silky obsidian-colored hair that was currently hanging down. Her complexion was fair and matched her pearlescent cream-colored skin perfectly.

"Eito, this is Layla Yuki. She has proclaimed herself to be my pet. She'll be living with me from now on." Malyganya said as she sat down. Layla immediately sat in between her legs and smiled brightly.

"Maly, you're so cold." Layla laughed as she turned and kissed Malyganya softly on the lips.

Eito watched in surprise as his partner reciprocated the kiss before reaching for some of the food on the table.

"Layla, its breakfast time. We need to eat." Malyganya told the young woman.

The two men looked at one another before looking back at Malyganya.

"Layla, was it?" one of the men asked.

Layla looked up from her plate at him with expectant eyes.

"You know that's the 'Heart-Break Harlot' right?" the man asked.

"Yea, and so what? She only breaks the hearts of those stupid enough to fall in love with her." Layla shot with a bored tone in her voice.

"You're saying you aren't bothered by the fact that she sleeps with multiple people?" the man's friend asked.

"Why would I be? It isn't like she's somebody's property or has to only have sexual relations with one person. I've decided that I like sex with her and I want to continue having sex with her so we talked about it and now I'll be staying with her." Layla told the two men in a matter-of-factually type of tone, showing that she was annoyed that anyone would question her motivations for staying.

The two men looked at one another before shrugging their shoulders and continuing their meal. Eito however looked between Malyganya and Layla with a wide smile on his face. _This girl is just full of surprises, can't wait to see what she does next._

* * *

A/N: Yea it's a quick update, but I wanted to get some type of exposition down.


	7. Chapter 7

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter VII: The Child of Ancients

 _Rose City_

Saskia van Leewenhoek sighed angrily to herself as she too another sip of her drink. She had tried to prevent the endless destruction of human lives and failed. She couldn't understand why the Republic army had resorted to such brutal methods even after securing victory. She wasn't a fan of either side but it had seemed to her that the Republic was the lesser of two evils.

Sighing once more Saskia reached for her drink but found it missing from the table. Looking around the young woman noticed a young girl, probably in her mid-teens drinking from the cup. Saskia quickly took the beverage away and was surprised to find it almost completely empty.

"Jesus Christ kid, what is wrong with you?" Saskia asked as the girl looked at her with intrigued eyes.

"Hello there Miss. Your drink tasted funny; what is it?" the girl asked while jumping into a seat next to Saskia.

Saskia was surprised that the child hadn't recoiled from being chastised. Getting a better look at the child Saskia noticed the fang shaped markings underneath the girl's eyes on her cheeks. While most people on the planet had various tattoo markings, only the ancient zoidians markings were so crisp and defined allowing Saskia to instantly identify what the girl was.

The child wore a long full-body forest green cocktail dress with matching green shoes. The dress and shoes matched the girl's green eyes which stood out slightly against the brightness of her short orange-red hair. The girl's skin was fair with light freckles spotting her face. Saskia couldn't help but smile at the innocence the flowed from the girl as she sat waiting for an answer to her question.

"Well, young lady that was a drink for grown-ups." Saskia replied as she looked around to see if anyone had noticed the child drinking her beer.

"A grown-up's drink? That doesn't seem fair at all. Mother taught me that we need to be fair and kind to everyone. If only grown-ups have things then it isn't fair to kids." The girl answered.

Saskia stifled a laugh with her mouth at the child's very simple, albeit well explained argument.

"True it isn't fair that things are separated like that. But the reason children can't drink this is because they would get sick." Saskia tried to explain without going into too much detail.

"Why don't adults get sick when they drink it?" the child asked.

"Our bodies are bigger and more developed we have special shields inside us to stop the sickness." Saskia answered, while not explicitly lying to the child but bending the truth in her favor.

The ancient zoidian child was silent as she grabbed her chin and began to think about the information she had been given. While she did Saskia ordered another beer and made sure to keep this one far away from the child.

"I suppose that's fair then. No one wants to get someone else sick so if having only adults drink it means kids are healthy then that's good." The girl said with a bright smile.

Saskia nodded in agreement before sipping at her beer.

"What's your name kid and where are your parents?" Saskia asked, realizing she should've gotten that information first instead of explaining the nuances of liquor to the child.

"My name is Alice Silvia. I'm fifteen years old and traveling with my father and best friend Shiro." The girl introduced herself, holding her hand out.

"Hello Alice, my name is Saskia. It is a pleasure to meet you." Saskia replied shaking the girls hand.

"So where is your father and your friend. Surely they must be worried about you." Saskia stated looking at the bemused teenager.

"I think they got lost in the city so I've been looking for them." Alice explained.

Saskia raised a eyebrow at the girl's answer and came to the conclusion that it was actually Alice who was lost not her father if only based off the subtle traits she had observed from the child.

"How about I help you look for them." Saskia suggested as she finished off her third beer, well technically her second since Alice had swiped the one from before.

"That'd be super. I really need to find Father, he's defenseless without me." Alice said with a smile.

Saskia smiled in agreement with the girl's statement. She supposed it was natural for a child to believe they were the ones protecting the parent and not the other way around. Leaving money on her table to pay for her meal and drinks Saskia got up with Alice in tow and left the tavern she had been in for the last forty-five minutes. The bright blazing sun shone down on the two females as they left the building causing Saskia to shield her eyes.

"So where did your father and friend get lost at?" Saskia asked Alice hoping the teenager would remember landmarks of some kind.

Alice grabbed her chin and began to pace as she tried to remember where she had last seen the people in question.

"Well I remember us stopping at the big fountain at the park. Father had just gotten me some ice cream and Shiro was playing with some of the other kids." Alice finally commented.

Saskia knew the area in question. It was the Rose Memorial Park named after the first mayor of the city. Motioning for Alice to follow, Saskia began to walk in the direction of the park. The streets weren't as busy as when Saskia had made her way to the tavern that afternoon which meant they were able to reach the park that much quicker.

Arriving at the park Saskia saw various food stands as well as park-goers in the area. Th entrance was a constant buzz of activity as people entered and exited the area. Looking at her temporary travel companion Saskia saw that Alice was once again deep in thought evidenced by what was now becoming a trademark chin grab.

"OK so we are at the park what happened next?" Saskia asked.

"Well the ice cream was super delicious and Shiro had stopped playing with the other kids at this point. Father was writing in his notebook and telling me how we needed supplies for our journey." Alice explained.

"Supplies for your trip?" Saskia asked with slight confusion.

"Yea, Father and I are on a trip to explore the unmapped southern continent." Alice explained.

"Is your father a researcher of some kind?" Saskia questioned as she began to lead Alice towards the largest supply store the city had to offer.

"Wow, you're good. He's a scientist with the Republic Army!" Alice exclaimed happily causing Saskia to stop in her tracks.

"Your father works for the Republic?" she asked for clarification, the recent atrocity of the Republic still fresh in her mind.

"Yep, he helps make the medicine and food rations and stuff for the Republic. Now he's on a exploration mission to find better land for all Republic civilians to stay so that we won't have to fight anymore battles." Alice explained as she continued to walk, unaware that Saskia had stopped.

Hearing the teenagers response however brought a smile to Saskia's face. She realized that she had almost let the actions of a small group blind her to the actions of the whole. Not everyone in the republic was as ruthless as the troops she met. This girl and her family were living proof of that. They were trying to find a peaceful way to end the war.

Catching up to Alice, Saskia felt a smile grace her face. The duo arrived at the general department store in a matter of minutes before heading inside. The area was completely buzzing around with activity. Suddenly Saskia felt herself thrown to the side followed by a mechanical roar.

"No Shiro! Stop it! Saskia is a friend!" Saskia heard Alice cry out as she lifted herself from the rack of tools she had been thrown into.

Getting to her feet she saw a medium sized robotic tyrannosaurus. Saskia had seen her fair share of organoids around and this one looked pretty plain. It was white and stood only about five feet tall. From what she could see its teeth and claws were slightly dull, ill suited for combat but then again it was rare to find organoids that fought outside of a Zoid.

"Alice!" a man's voice called out.

Alice and Saskia turned their attention to the brawny middle-aged man dressed in brown shows, brown slacks, and a white lab coat that covered his shirt. Had he not been wearing the lab coat and called out to Alice Saskia would never have pegged the man as a scientist. He was tall, standing probably six feet tall as well as stocky with a healthy muscular build about him.

"I'm so sorry madam." the man quickly apologized scratching the back of his head sheepishly with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"It's ok, I'm not banged up too badly and Alice was able to find you guys." Saskia replied waving off the man.

"Oh, you know my daughter?" he asked looking from Alice to Saskia.

At this point however other patrons had begun to stare because of the earlier commotion. Saskia motioned for them to relocate with Alice riding on top of Shiro as they made their way to a different section of the store. Finding a secluded area Saskia explained what had happened from when she had met Alice until now. when she got to the end of her story Alice's father simply began to laugh.

"Ahhh, yes that does sound like her. She's always going off and trying new things on her own. She never seems to realize that she is the one getting lost not us." the man told Saskia after seeing the girls confused expression.

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about her well being?" Saskia asked.

"If she were ever in any danger Shiro would know. Alice is an ancient zoidian and Shiro here is her partner. he can sense where she is at any given time so whenever she gets lost we are able to find her and if she is ever in any danger he'll go to her. We scientist believe its a subconscious psychic bond that allows this phenomenon to exist." the man explained.

"I suppose that makes sense but still, a teenager walking around the big city alone is still pretty dangerous." Saskia stated looking over at Alice and Shiro as the ran between different aisle.

Alice's father merely laughed some more and watched his daughter having fun.

"True, she'll have to grow up at some point but for now she is enjoying her youth and I want to make sure she gets the most out of it." he said in a tone that Saskia could sense showed he understood more than he let on.

"Alice tells me you work for the Republic and are on a mission." Sakia stated as the man began to gather supplies from around the store.

"That is true. The main conflict of this war is land and resources. The southern continent however is unclaimed. If the Republic could establish themselves there and leave the Empire then war would have to stop. With each side having their own land then peace could return." he explained.

"That is a great way to think. Although don't you think it is a little unsafe to bring a child along?" Saskia asked as she helped the man with some the gear.

"Nonsense, Alice is my protector during this little expedition." the man rebuked.

"Wait, so she was being serious when she said she told me that she protects you?" Saskia asked with her voice full of disbelief.

The man laughed once more as he began to head to the checkout counter.

"Contrary to her looks, Alice is a fairly decent zoids pilot. She even has two of her very own specially customized zoids." the man explained.

Saskia looked at Alice with a newfound outlook. It was hard to imagine this girl being a zoids pilot. she didn't seem to have the discipline for it. Here her father was though confirming that the teenager was indeed what she claimed to be.

"Sir, I'd like to accompany you on this expedition of yours." Saskia stated after the man had paid for everything.

"As much as I'd like that, we don't have the funds to support a third person." the man answered.

"This mission is strictly off the books and known to only a very select few officers within the Republic. If the Imperial forces caught wind of our plans they might try to go lay claim to the Southern continent themselves." he elaborated seeing Saskia about to protest.

"That's understandable but you wont have to worry because i have money to support myself. I'm a semi-professional zoids warrior and after the victories my Gilvader and I have got I have a nice little nest egg I can use." Saskia stated.

"I'd feel bad asking you to go out of your way to do this." the man said as he, Alice, and Saskia loaded the supplies and gear into a large truck.

"Well then it is a good thing im volunteering to go. Trust me, there is safety in numbers and you're going to an unexplored region." Saskia stated laying on facts that only helped her case.

The man stopped and began to think about the prospect, stroking his beard in the process. _Well I guess that explains why Alice is always grabbing her chin when she thinks._ Saskia thought with a soft smile on her face.

"Alright then Miss Leewenhoek, you're a welcome addition to our merry little band." the man finally said extending his hand to Saskia.

"You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it." Saskia assured the man as she shook his hand. This was the start of a band new journey for her and Gilvader and she would do her best to bring peace to the world she loved.

* * *

A/N: No action, i know but there has to be some exposition and plot in between the explosions.


	8. Chapter 8

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter VIII: The Contract

A/N: So for those of you who don't read my RWBY stories, I'll be updating this story and the main RWBY story on a bi-weekly basis starting with this update.

* * *

 _Republic City Matthias_

Stravros Gannicus looked around at the surviving members of the Republic forces. Although they had won the battle with the last minute intervention of the maverick pilot the Republic army had still lost almost two-thirds of its forces in the attack. Lieutenant Jones had told the troops they were shipping out back to their homes for some R&R while the capitol sent in troops to oversee the city.

Stravros was sad to see many of his comrades would be shipped back in body bags and the one who had survived would be leaving. After getting all his belongings together the soldier had sought out Bonnibel, his now fiance. They already had a place to live in the city and Stravros was already in the process of signing up as a Zoids warrior pilot.

He would put his combat training to use earning money for his new family he wished to start with Bonnibel. Stravros was walking the streets of the city when he saw Blake Raymond exiting a nearby building. Increasing his pace Stravros caught up to the young man in a matter of seconds.

"Blake hold on." Stravros called out.

The young man in question turned around with a blank expression on his face. When Stravros had caught up the two began walking together.

"Stravros Gannicus, why did you call out to me?" Blake asked.

"I wanted to thank you for your help. You really helped our forces during this operation." Stravros told the mercenary.

"I was only doing my job. There's no need to thank me for that." Blake responded.

"Perhaps not but you could have taken a job with the Empire and fought against us." Stravros stated.

"I still might, I'm a gun-for-hire after all." Blake interrupted turning to look Stravros in the eye.

Blake's honest statement caused Stravros to be quiet as he thought of the truth behind the words. There was a chance that his comrades might have to fight against Blake should the merc ever take a contract with the Imperial Army. The thought brought some unease to Stravros who considered Blake a brother-in-arms.

"I hope the day never comes when you fight against the Republic." Stravros said to Blake.

"Don't you mean when I might have to fight you?" Blake asked.

"No, I've turned in my papers already. I'm tired of fighting and this war. Bonnibel has been patient enough to wait for me all these years even with all the times we've been on and off. I want to really give her a life she deserves." Stravros explained.

Stravros saw Blake smile at his answer, something he had never seen the young man do. It wasn't big or obvious but a small curl at the corners of his mouth showing approval at the response.

"We aren't so different you an I. Our driving force is family. The people we care about let us do things we might not have had the strength to do alone. I know you've been fighting in this war for a few years but you're leaving to be with the woman you love. I respect that." Blake stated as he extended his hand to Stravros.

Shaking hands the two pilots felt a sense of camaraderie with one another before continuing on their way.

 _Miles outside of Matthias_

The lone female pilot looked around the wasteland. She had been given an assignment and although she usually worked with her partner this was something she'd have to do alone given the nature of the task. She turned around and walked over to her zoid, a sleek four-legged creature. From what could be seen along the outside it had one armament for ranged combat. It was shaped like a tiger and was equipped with razor sharp teeth and claws. Its armor as shining obsidian and reflected the setting sunlight off its pristine shimmering surface. This was a Diablotiger, one of the rarest zoids in existance with only fifteen known owners of one.

As the pilot situated herself inside the cockpit her console started to ping.

"Go for secure." she said as she ran the checks on her zoid.

"This is Hideki, you are secure." she heard a young man's voice on the other side of the transmission.

"Hideki, it is comforting to be working with you again." the woman stated as she continued her pre-battle diagnostics.

"Hey, after my last mission with those twins, it is nice to be working with a professional." Hideki replied.

"The mission details were sent as level two classified, care to explain?" the woman asked as he diagnostics finished.

"After the Empire lost control of that sector it was decided that we would start to use more espionage and subterfuge than outright combat. Some of the more trigger-happy higher-ups however want an example to be made of the Matthias City inhabitants. We could bomb the city and say it was due to republic occupancy we want to avoid uniting the Republic under a tragedy. Instead you'll be working as an independent resource." Hideki explained.

"What are the mission parameters?" the woman asked as she began to move out.

"I've always liked that about you Malyganya. You're direct and right on point. This is a blitz job. We need you to cause as much damage in as little time as possible. I've got a delayed spike in place to scramble their communications. It will buy you five minutes before they are able to reestablish contact with the themselves." Hideki answered.

"Ryuoki, mobilize." Malyganya stated as her organoid roared from within the Diablotiger, energizing the zoid.

"Any targets of interests while I'm here?" Malyganya asked, her voice steady and even as she approached the city.

"There are a few high level soldiers and some buildings you can hit. Our main priority is to turn this into a Public Relations nightmare for the Republic. If we show their citizens that their government can't protect them from bandits and raiders then it'll strengthen our political platform towards turning them to our side." Hideki answered.

Malyganya looked through the attached filed that had just been sent to her. For her this was a job. A job meant money which meant security for herself and her partner. Malyganya knew she was different from humans. Most ancient zoidians were but she also knew that she didn't need to conform to their ideas of right and wrong. She did things that suited her immediate needs and lived life to the fullest.

She had been called many things before; "freak", "cold hearted", "harlot", "robot", among others but she never let their words get to her. Her part Eito had accepted her for who she was. He was one of the few people in her life who did. She appreciated his honesty and forthcoming attitude. They had been through a lot together from zoids battles to freelance mission.

While Eito never enjoyed their freelance work as much as she did Malyganya he didn't try to stop her from doing it. His reluctance for some of the grittier aspects for freelancing was one of the reasons Malyganya had decided to take this assignment alone.

"While you're doing your thing I'll be gathering as much data as I can from their servers." Hideki noted as Malyganya armed her main cannon.

"Are you sure that is wise?" Malyganya asked.

"Don't worry. It's a remote hack using the spike as a relay point. I'll try to get anything that might help promote the end game of this little outing." Hideki said with a small laugh.

"Good luck Hideki, going silent now." Malyganya said as she broke the connection and activated the spike before opening fire on Matthias City.

 _Matthias City Financial District_

The first set of explosions caused people to stop and stare. The second set sent many to the ground. It wasn't until the third set did the citizens actually start to panic. Several of the troops that had been out and about relaxing immediately went for their radios to try and contact the base but all they were met with was static.

Blake and Stravros looked at one another before nodding in understanding.

"One more ride for old time." Stravros stated as he and Blake began to run.

The army had set up base just outside the financial district and it would take some time to reach by foot but the two pilots had a different approach in mind as they commandeered a pair of motorcycles and began to ride towards the base.

"The comms are down. I can't reach anyone!" Blake yelled as they wove in and out of traffic. Buildings around them exploded as they rode.

As they came across a clear stretch of road the two pilots were finally able to get a good look at what was attacking them. A black zoid with glowing red eyes was firing balls of energy from the cannon mounted on the square of its back. It ran through the city swiping at buildings and cars with it claws and firing its cannon.

"Where are all our troops? No one is combating that thing." Stravros stated as they turned on the road leading to the base.

"With communications down it would be hard for anyone to mobilize." Blake stated as the base came in sight.

"This can't be an Imperial attack. They would've hit our base first to stop us from retaliating." Stravros stated as they drove past the front gate.

"You think it might be raiders? This city doesn't have much in terms of value. Why would raiders come out this way?" Blake asked as the duo ran towards the hangers.

"We only saw one zoid. It may just be a single pilot trying to start a name for themselves. We need to capture them and show the citizens that we won't tolerate law-breakers." Stravros told Blake as the hangers came into view.

The duo stopped dead in their tracks however as they also began to see bodies on the ground. Crewman and maintenance workers who had been left on site to prepare the zoids for transport out of the sector lay dead. There were bodies leading a trail to the hanger.

"There is more than one of them. Look at this. The pilot is probably a distraction while the rest of the forces steal military-grade weaponry." Stravros surmised as he began checking bodies for any survivors.

Suddenly the sound of explosions came from within the hanger causing both Blake and Stravros to run to the building. When they got inside they saw multiple zoids damaged and destroyed. Looking around for the group responsible they saw no one.

"We should arm ourselves before we go any further. If they are doing this kind of damage then they must have some impressive ordinance with them." Blake said as he moved off to the side with Stravros following behind.

As they approached a nearby weapons locker the two men heard foot steps and stopped.

A woman came into view and what she wore surprised Blake so much that he almost cried out. She was dressed in a silver-trim black leotard with a laced chest opening, showing off her cleavage. In addition to that she wore dark knee-high boots, matching armbands and fingerless gloves. Her attire from what Stravros could tell was specifically meant to be as nonrestrictive as possible. She wore her hair wrapped up in a bun and had a dark silver mask on that covered the lower part of her face.

Aside from her clothing the duo saw a pair of pistol holsters strapped to her thighs and attached to a belt around her waist. The woman currently had her pistols drawn as she searched around the area. Stravros pulled Blake back and into cover as the woman passed by them.

"She may be alone, we need to ambush her and use her as leverage against her team." Blake stated.

"We don't even know if they will care. I say our best bet is to subdue her then arm ourselves and go after the others." Stravros counter suggested.

Blake would have preferred a prisoner but there was truth in Stravros's suggestion. If this group was newly formed or didn't care for one another than a hostage would simply give away their position unnecessarily.

Holding up his fingers Stravros began to count down the second until they would ambush the woman. Before he could finish however she appeared around their cover, saw them and took aim before opening fire.

* * *

A/N: I wont keep the focus on the war aspect for too much longer as there will be relevance to the Backdraft and zoid battles and how they fit into the politics of the world.


	9. Chapter 9

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter IX: The Decision

A/N: For those of you who may be wondering, the story isn't dead.

* * *

 _Matthias City - Republic Base_

Stavros was a trained soldier. He saw the gunmen appear and with Blake turned away; there was no way for the young pilot to see the threat. Stavros did what he was trained to do and tackled Blake to the ground to cover him as their assailant opened fire on them.

The shots rang out in rapid succession. Stavros felt three bullets graze him along the arms and leg while two more actually buried themselves into his side. Clenching his teeth at the pain Stavros refused to move until the shots stopped.

Looking up he saw the woman was reloading her pistols and sprang into action. Charging the gun-wielding woman Stavros punched her as hard as he could in the stomach causing her to double over. He didn't stop there however as he followed up the attack by kneeing her in the face. The mask protected the woman from most of the damage but still sent her stumbling backwards.

"Humans can't withstand gunfire. How are still standing?" The woman asked, her voice slightly robotic and echoing.

"Pain and I are old friends. We got back a long time and right now I think it's time I introduced the two of you." Stavros said as he adopted his hand to hand combat stance.

The woman hadn't had time to reload but still held onto her pistols. Stavros could see she intended to use them as bludgeoning devices and smirked. Charging in at the masked woman Stavros fought through the pain of the gunshot wounds and engaged his adversary in combat.

He struck out with a left hook, favoring the arm that hadn't been grazed but the attack was blocked. The woman shifted her weight to absorb the blow as her body moved with the punch before countering with a kick to Stavros' leg. The larger fighter buckled slightly as a sharp pain ran up the limb.

Not to let his opponent control the flow of battle Stavros quickly pinned the woman's leg to his side using his arm and raised his free arm with the intent of breaking her leg. This was not to be however as the woman jumped off her free leg and kicked Stavros in the side of the neck. The angle of the kick was awkward enough that it also struck along the front causing Stavros to go into a coughing fit.

As she dropped to the ground the woman tried to quickly reload her weapons. The pistols were kicked out of her hand by Blake who had recovered from the shock of being shot at and joined the battle. Blake didn't have the same training as Stavros but he knew his way around a fist fight and made sure not to give the woman any breathing room as he quickly mounted her.

From his elevated position on top of the woman Blake began to punch away at her; at least he tried to. The woman was flexible and made use of her unrestrictive clothing by bending her lower body up and wrapping her ankles around Blake's neck before throwing the young man off her.

She was quick to get to her feet but saw that Stavros stood between her and her pistols. Quickly assessing the situation, she turned around and began to run. Stavros went back to grab the guns before handing one to Blake and chasing after the masked woman.

"Stavros you should stay back and cover the exits. With your wounds you'll only bleed out." Blake said as they ran.

The woman was a couple of meters ahead of them and Blake knew they wouldn't catch up if he had to slow down and keep pace with Stavros.

"No can do kid, I'm a soldier and this base belongs to my military. I'm the only one authorized to take her down." Stavros said as he continued to run.

"You're hurt god damn it. Don't try and be a hero!" Blake exclaimed as he stood in front of Stavros to stop him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Stavros asked as their quarry raced even further ahead.

"If I have to worry about you then you'll end up slowing me down. Stay back and let me handle this!" Blake exclaimed.

Stavros didn't know why Blake was enthused about this given the aloof and somewhat cold nature the teen had shown since arriving.

"Alright damn it. I'll try to make it to the control room and initiate a lockdown. You get her and take her down. If she doesn't come quietly, then take her out." Stavros instructed.

Blake nodded in acknowledgement and ran off down the hall faster than he had been running with Stavros. He soon caught sight of the woman climbing some stairs and opened fire on her with the pistol. He got off three shots before the weapon clicked empty. Swearing to himself for forgetting that he had stopped the woman from reloading Blake took off running after her again.

The woman looked down the stairs and saw her pursuer but instead of continuing to climb she got off on a landing and ran off. Blake reached the same landing a few minutes later and began to proceed cautiously. The base was designed in such a way that you could get from the main area to any other section by using different landings within the transfer section of the building.

"You might as well come out. I already know this landing doesn't lead to an exit." Blake called out.

Inching forward Blake tried to locate the hidden person. Suddenly he was struck from behind and landed face first on the ground. Scrambling to his feet Blake turned and saw the masked woman looking at him. The expression in her eyes displayed curiosity as she tilted her head to one side as if questioning his existence in front of her.

"You are not the fighter. Who are you, child?" The woman asked, completely relaxed.

"Why don't you give me your name first?!" Blake cried out as he charged in at the stranger.

Punching out with a flurry of jabs Blake tried to hit the woman. She side stepped his assault with ease and avoided his punches with dancelike motions. Blake wouldn't let up however and pulled back for a powerful straight punch. As he released the attack the woman spun into his chest before grabbing his arm and using his own forward momentum to throw the young pilot over her shoulder.

Blake hit the ground hard before bouncing once and rolling off to the side. Standing up he saw that the woman was standing with her arms loosely folded over her abdomen. She wasn't even taking him seriously. Clenching his teeth Blake rushed her once more.

He struck out with a right jab. She deflected the attack with her left hand and countered with a jab to his face. Blake then tried a left jab. This was deflected with her right hand and she countered with a swift left hook. As the blow struck Blake felt his jaw bend to the breaking point.

He didn't go down but the attack definitely stunned him. Before he could recover the woman was on him. A swift short uppercut to his stomach was followed by a blinding right hook that linked into a backhanded blow across his face. The attacks were so quick his brain didn't even register the pain until the left fist came into play and struck him twice before he was backhanded to the ground.

Blake writhed on the ground as the masked woman just stared down at him tilting her head from left to right as she inspected him.

"See, not a fighter. You should have stayed back. The fighter should have come." The woman commented as she turned to walk away.

Blake knew the smart thing to do was to lay down but he was angry. She was looking down on him as a person.

"Minx!" Blake cried out at the top of his voice.

There was a loud yowl heard before a beam of light crashed through the roof and landed next to Blake.

"Oh, you have an organoid as well?" the woman asked looking back to examine Minx.

"Minx get her!" Blake commanded

Minx wasn't big, roughly the size of a puma. Its metal was dark brown with a green tint within. Claws sprouted from its paws as it leapt at the female. Baring its teeth the organoid tried to swipe the masked woman with its claws but she avoided the attack. Blake got to his feet as Minx attacked the woman.

Positioning himself for an ambush upon the woman Blake sprinted and pulled back his right arm and keeping his left in front of him for balance. This maneuver turned into the young pilots down fall as the masked woman turned to intercept him. Leaping into the air the woman caught Blake's arm between her legs.

The sudden extra weight forced Blake to the ground. From her position on the ground the woman locked Blake in an armbar and began pulling the limb. Blake cries of pain were so intense that Minx stopped dead in its tracks.

"Send it away." The woman commanded keeping her eyes on the organoid.

"Never." Blake spat back defiantly.

"Fine." The woman answer before applying more pressure and breaking Blake's arm.

The audible snap as the bones broke actually echoed slightly but were drowned out by Blake's yelling. Letting the teenager go, the woman stood up and watched as he squirmed and writhed around on the ground, cradling his arm.

From above the woman heard the sounds of aerial zoids. Turning towards the stairs she began running up towards the roof of the building leaving Blake to deal with his pain alone. The woman made it to the roof in minutes and saw a silver stormsworder had landed on the building.

Standing next to one of the zoid's legs was a man and next to him an organoid. She knew it was an organoid even though it had the shape of a person. Both the man and the organoid was muscular and heavy built but the organoid had a slight imbalance with its left arm being smaller than its right.

"You're in a bit of a jam here Malyganya." The man said as alarms began to sound.

"You are not my extraction team." Malyganya said, her tone even and unsurprised at the development.

"No, no I am not. I had to make them vacate the area so that your only choice was to come with me or get captured here." The man explained.

"Very well then, I'll come with you." Malyganya stated immediately.

The man was surprised and it showed on his face. Malyganya walked over to him and grabbed the line that would bring her up to the stormsworder's cockpit.

"Are you going to stand around or are we going to get going?" she asked

"You didn't even ask who I am or what I'm doing. You just agreed to come with me, a stranger." The man said looking to his organoid.

"I have no time to waste. You are obviously here for me and as you put it, you are my only way out of here. So if we are going somewhere then we need to go, now." Malyganya stated and the man could hear it in her voice that she didn't care how she got out as long as she did.

 _Having her join might just be the greatest achievement ever._ He thought to himself as he grabbed the line and brought them both up to the cockpit. Once they were situated inside the organoid fused into the zoid's core and they took off.

"So to get the introductions out of the way, I'm Khyron Saggaff. I'm part of a certain organization that deals in high stakes zoid battles." Khyron introduced himself.

"The Backdraft Organization." Malyganya stated as they flew.

"Correct. Our records show you've encountered our forces quite a few times and each time you've won." Khyron continued.

"The matches were more exciting but the pilots were weak." Malyganya commented.

"Exactly so we've found a pilot who we believe would give you the best combat experience. We of the Backdraft Organization want you two to fight to your hearts content." Khyron explained.

"Is this pilot really strong?" Malyganya asked, finally removing her mask.

"Yes, I believe he is." Khyron answered.

"Bring me to him."

 _Matthias City – The following day_

Stavros opened his eyes slowly to the steady sound of beeping. Looking around he saw that he was in a hospital room. Bonnibel was at his side, head resting on his stomach from the chair she was sitting in.

"Hey Bonnie." The man managed to croak out while nudging the woman.

Bonnibel woke up and smiled as tears ran down her face.

"Stavros, thank goodness you're ok." She cried out as she wrapped her arms around Stavros' neck.

"What happened?" Stavros asked.

"The Backdraft Organization attacked the city. They claimed it was because they were bored." Bonnibel explained.

 _Backdraft is claiming responsibility for this? Bullshit, that woman was trained. No way she was just some backdraft foot soldier. She has to be connected to the Empire in some way._ Stavros thought angrily to himself.

"The news in wrong. It wasn't Backdraft. The Empire was behind this attack. I fought the intruder and she was trained well. She was able to take me on in combat." Stavros stated.

"Yea but only because you were wounded. Besides there are eyewitness claims of various Backdraft Organization zoids being spotted. Maybe you just ran into one of their leaders." Bonnibel said.

There was silence as the two of them thought over what had happened. Suddenly Bonnibel sighed and stood up. Stavros looked at the woman with a confused expression on his face.

"Bonnie?" he asked trying to read her expression.

"You're going to try and find the person who did this to you, aren't you?" Bonnibel asked.

Stavros looked down at his hands before clenching them into fists.

"She's dangerous and an enemy to the Republic." Stavros said, mostly under his breath.

"You left the army Stavros. Don't do this!" Bonnibel exclaimed.

"Bonnie…" Stavros let her nickname trail off as her tear filled eyes glared at him.

"Don't you 'Bonnie' me Stavros Gannicus. If you make this decision. If you go after her then know that I am done with you, for good." Bonnibel stated taking the engagement ring Stavros had given her off and holding it out to him.

Stavros looked at the ring and then at Bonnibel. She had given him an ultimatum and now the decision to stay or go became a lot harder.

* * *

A/N: you know the deal, let me hear your thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10

Zoids: Legacy of an Empire

Chapter X: The Compromise

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I was on vacation, got into a car crash, and had to help my sister move.

* * *

 _Matthias City Hospital_

Stavros looked at the ring in his hand and sighed. Bonnibel had given him till midnight to come to a decision. He wasn't a soldier anymore and so he didn't have to go after the assailant. That was the lie he told himself over and over.

His patriotic spirit was burning and he knew that he had to go after the woman. Was she worth losing Bonnibel forever? As Stavros wracked his mind for the right answer the door to his room opened up. At the door stood a battered and bandaged Blake.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Stavros asked the young man.

"Like shit. The woman made a fool out of me." Blake spat, clenching the fist of his good arm.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You're a pilot not a soldier. She was obviously trained to handle herself. I doubt I would've lasted long against her myself." Stavros said as he tried to soothe Blake's wounded pride.

Blake merely sighed and took a seat in the chair next to Stavros' bed. The two zoids pilots just sat in silence for a few minutes. Stavros didn't know what it was Blake was looking for and couldn't find any words that might help this situation.

"So are you going to re-enlist?" Blake asked suddenly, breaking Stavros from his thoughts.

"I…I don't know. Bonnibel has given me an ultimatum." Stavros answered.

Blake's response was a slightly confused expression with one eyebrow raised.

"My girlfriend and/or fiancé depending how things go. We've had a rocky on-off relationship for the past few years now. I finally thought with this victory enough would be enough and I could make an honest woman out of her." Stavros explained.

"Ok so what's stopping you?" Blake questioned.

"You're seriously asking me that after what we just went through?" Stavros questioned given Blake a look of disbelief.

"It is precisely because of what we went through that I'm asking you. From what you just said you really love this woman. You left the army to be with her. This new shit that's happened shouldn't have any bearing on your decision. You want to be with her and start a family with her. Take it from me, family is the most important thing in the world. Without family you're alone." Blake elaborated his thoughts on the matter.

Stavros looked at the young man in a new light, appreciating the wisdom beyond his years. Smiling softly Stavros closed his hands around the ring and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Blake asked looking over at the older male.

"Nothing, just surprised that someone so young could give out advice so wise." Stavros answered.

Blake smiled back but it was soft and barely noticeable. He knew that he came across as cold and distance sometime because he put his family first but the young man truly did want friends and although he'd never admit it Blake did consider Stavros to be his friend.

"Speaking of family, it's time I got back to mine. I can't stick around here forever. More jobs exist out in the world for pilots like me. I've got to get back into shape and continue earning a living for the ones dearest to me." Blake stated as he stood up and stretched.

"Surprised you wouldn't want a rematch with that woman considering what happened." Stavros said as Blake left.

"Some things are more important than healing a wounded pride. If I ever come across her again then I'll teach her a lesson but she's not worth the trouble of hunting down. Not when there are people who are counting on me to return." Blake responded before leaving the room.

Stavros was stuck alone with his thoughts and twiddled with the ring between his fingers as the minutes passed.

 _Player's Compound_

Malyganya exited the cockpit of the Stormsworder and looked up at Khyron while shielding her eyes. The ride back had taken longer than she expected but mostly because Khyron had decided to show her the rendezvous point and have her mark its coordinates for herself. Ryuoki and her Diablo Tiger had met up with them part of the way through. Malyganya had sent them ahead back to the compound while she dealt with Khyron.

"Remember to be there in the next three days. There is a lot of money riding on this battle." Khyron shouted down to the young woman.

"Just make sure my opponent is ready." Malyganya replied before turning and walking away from the Backdraft member.

The dark haired pilot continued to the building she co-owned with her battle partner before letting herself inside. The smell of cooking filled the air and Malyganya allowed herself to be drawn towards it. In the kitchen Eito stood at the stove.

"So, you took a job without me?" he asked without a hello, his voice bitter.

"You already know the answer to that, it seems pointless to ask." Malyganya answered as she walked over to the young man.

"Damn it Malyganya, we are partners. You can't just decide when you want to be a solo act!" Eito exclaimed as he turned around to face the woman.

"You are concerned for my well-being and I am concerned for yours. The job I did was not one you find comfortable. I decided to spare you from future distress by taking it on alone." Malyganya explained as she hugged Eito softly.

"Malyganya…" Eito said softly feeling the genuine concern in her hug.

She wasn't the best at displaying emotion and at times Eito knew she was naïve but she did care for him. She knew he didn't like to kill unnecessarily and almost hated working with the Empire if it could be avoided. She took the burden of accepting his wrath to prevent his sorrow.

"You know I worry about you when you're off doing these solo acts. We're stronger together than we are apart." Eito stated.

"I don't want to see you do something you'll regret later, is it selfish that I want to keep you pure?" Malyganya asked.

Eito merely chuckled and pulled back from the hug slightly.

"I'm far from pure Malyganya, but thank you from caring. From now on tough I want you to tell me when you're taking one of these missions you think might not be good for me. Give me the choice on whether I should go or not." Eito told his partner.

"Very Well, I shall endeavor to do so in the future. I fell there is a more pressing concern however." Malyganya replied.

"What's that?" Eito questioned.

"Your food is burning." The woman answered, her monotone voice expressing no concern over what was happening.

Eito quickly released Malyganya and turned his attention to the stove, swearing as he tried to save his breakfast.

"Maly, baby!" a female voice called out from behind the duo causing Malyganya to turn around.

She saw Layla standing in the doorway dressed only in a long t-shirt that came to her thighs. The young woman ran over to her before kissing Malyganya full on the lips.

"You are such a bitch you know, leaving me alone for three whole days." Layla state with a mock pout on her face.

"I didn't leave you here. You were free to go out and look around. What you do with your time when I'm not around is out of my control." Malyganya stated tilting her head to the side curiously.

Eito snickered loudly causing Layla to shoot him a glare of pure death. Taking ahold the girl's hand Malyganya lead Layla out of the kitchen and towards her room but stopped halfway. Motioning for Layla to go ahead Malyganya walked back to the kitchen.

"I've received an invitation from the Backdraft Organization for an unsanctioned match. I'd like to talk with you about it later." Malyganya told Eito, practically ignoring the expression of shock on his face as she left to go back to her room where Layla waited for her.

 _Imperial Headquarters – Capitol City Guygalos_

General Ironstorm wasn't a big man. He wasn't muscular or well-endowed. General Ironstorm was below average in all physical aspects. This didn't matter to anyone under his command however. General Ironstorm was intelligent. He fought with his mind and his strategies had lead the Imperial Army to numerous victories.

He was reading the report that had been given to him only hours ago. One of the many outposts had hired a well-known mercenary to help acquire Republic data. Everything that had been recovered had been sent to him. Ironstorm liked what he saw. Now all he had to do was figure out how best to act. Pressing a button on his desk, the general opened a line up to the central office.

"This is General Ironstorm. I need to call an emergency meeting of the commanders. Please advise the king that he and his son should also be in attendance." The middle-aged man spoke once the line had been received.

"Certainly General, we will contact the others posthaste." A voice from the other end of the call acknowledged before cutting out.

Ironwood stood up and looked at the map behind him. He smiled while grabbing his chin and running the fingers of his free hand over the southern sector.

"You can try and keep your secrets hidden, but sooner or later everything is revealed in the light." The man said, chuckling softly to himself.

 _Matthias City Hospital_

Stavros stood at the window looking up at the cloudless sky when he heard the door open behind him. The soft footsteps and faint scent of lavender revealed the identity of his visitor even before he turned around.

"Bonnibel." Stavros spoke.

"Stavros." The woman replied stopping a few feet from him.

The silence between them turned to tension as a thick air invaded the space with them.

"You told me I had to choose between going after this mystery woman or staying with you." Stavros began, breaking their silence.

"I did, I can't wait for you to be ready to leave this army life anymore." Bonnibel stated, her voice cracking slightly.

"I am ready to leave it. In fact, I have already left it. Bonnibel I choose you but I also choose to chase her." Stavros said, turning around to face the woman.

"I won't go after her as an army officer. I'll go after her as a zoids pilot. You don't want me back in the army. I won't be, but don't deny me the chance to take her down after all she did." Stavros continued as he began to step towards Bonnibel.

"So, you want a compromise?" Bonnibel asked, starring Stavros in the eye.

"All good relationships require them Bonnie. We can't just have ultimatums." Stavros replied holding out the engagement ring to her.

Bonnibel looked at Stavros and then at the ring. Smiling softly, she took the band and slipped it over her finger before embracing her fiancé in a hug. Stavros smiled and held onto Bonnibel as the clock nearby struck midnight.

* * *

A/N: Yes I know the chapter is short but just like my RWBY story I need to get back into the flow of things.


End file.
